The Sacramento Bee, the McClatchy paper that inherited Melanie Sill as editor from The News & Observer, scolded California’s voters in an online editorial yesterday:
Good morning, California voters. Do you feel better, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system? …
So, now that you’ve put those irksome politicians in their place, maybe it’s time to think about this: Since you’re in charge, exactly what do you intend to do about that pesky $25 billion hole in the budget?
But a few hours later the editorial suddenly changed:
Good morning, members of the California Legislature. Good morning, Governor.
Feeling bruised and abused this morning? Well, you can’t say you didn’t see it coming. The polls have been saying for weeks that voters were going to do just what they did on Tuesday: Conclusively reject your slate on the ballot, Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E.
The Bee claims the scolding editorial was just one of several drafts being considered by the editorial board. Well, maybe. Bee readers have reason to doubt that explanation, especially since voters were ridiculed even in the softer version (emphasis added):
You can blame the voters for reacting with uninformed and misplaced anger.
