We have met the enemy . . .

. . . and he is us, as Pogo used to joke.

Those "fools" and "thieves" and "clowns" in Sacramento are the people we elected.

California's dysfunctional thicket of constitutional restrictions and ballot box budgeting is the haphazard result of our short-sighted embrace of countless numbered propositions (13, 218, 98, 10 etc.) that just don't add up.

The partisan gridlock has festered because the vast majority of sensible Californians have turned away in cynicism and disgust from the circus of stupid, negative campaigns fueled by floods of special interest money.

Now look what we've come to.

Here's the Public Policy Institute's poll numbers on the ballot measures promoted by our Governor and Legislature:

• Proposition 1A - 52% no, 35% yes, 13% don't know

• Proposition 1B - 47% no, 40% yes, 13% don't know

• Proposition 1C - 58% no, 32% yes, 10% don't know

• Proposition 1D - 45% no, 43% yes, 12% don't know

• Proposition 1E - 48% no, 41% yes, 11% don't know

• Proposition 1F - 73% yes, 24% no, 3% don't know

Since many absentee votes have already been cast, the looming failure of 1A-1E means our State government will be short $21.3 billion between now and next July. But even more dismal is that even if by some miracle they all passed, we'll still be short $15.4 billion.

There is no quick fix. The Democrats are not going to shake off their short-sighted fixation on how to spend money nor are the Republicans going to abandon their obsession with holding down taxes. The Governor is not going to successfully reinvent himself yet again, nor does it make any sense to recall him.

As President Obama said during his campaign, we are the ones we have been waiting for.

Millions of Californians are going to have to start paying attention to substantive news, stop blaming other people for the mess we are in and work together to find answers. Oddly enough, given the magnitude of the crisis, the best place to start is at home in California's nearly 500 cities and towns.

Some years ago, a small group of thoughtful and idealistic activists from both parties (and independents) saw this trainwreck coming. They began meeting and tossing around ideas for heading it off. They adopted the name "Common Sense California." At first, they aimed to "reform" Sacramento. They had sensible ideas, like Redistricting reform to blunt the partisan stranglehold (an idea voters have adopted, but is still years from implementation.) Ultimately, however, they came to the conclusion that democracy needs to be reborn at the local level before we can fix Sacramento.

They call it civic engagement and they've drawn on promising models from around the globe and around our state to get people to take a healthy interest in the vital public issues that shape our private quality of life and standard of living. Last week, they highlighted Ventura's Economic Summit as the kind of "town hall" endeavor that can overcome the deep divisions that keep us from working together on solutions. They preach a simple, sensible message: we are going to fix our monumental self-induced problems only by changing from a "take no prisoners" activism that punishes moderation to an inclusive dialogue that seeks win-win consensus. Common Sense California doesn't claim we can solve our budget, transportation, economic and environmental challenges with a three point panacea. Their mission is "to help solve California's public problems by promoting citizens' participation in governance. We work with city governments, school districts, regional governance associations, and non-profit organizations to both support and promote legitimate civic involvement."

It is a long way from the digital OK Corral of virtual bloggers who never listen because they have all the answers. Which is why a revival of healthy civic involvement is so promising. Click here to learn more.

Winston Churchill said it best: "Americans will always do the right thing, after they've exhausted all the alternatives." Californians have zealously passed initiatives, recalled officials, ousted judges and ranted about the futility of it all. Now it is time to get serious and work together to put our State back on the right track.