Calif. proposition results mixed, liberal or not

Quoted in this one in the SF Chronicle.

Here is an excerpt:

While Californians were approving higher taxes to fund schools and state programs, they were also voting to maintain the status quo by rejecting two ideologically charged initiatives, a liberal measure to repeal the death penalty and a conservative attempt to enfeeble labor unions politically.
... 
One message is that "public opinion on the issues takes a long time to change," said Jessica Levinson, an associate professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She said voters were presented with a different question on three strikes - whether to scale it back while retaining the core of the law - than the up-or-down decision they faced on the death penalty.
...
In general, said Levinson, the Loyola associate professor, "money spent against ballot measures is much more effective than money spent in favor of them."