Thank You, California Voters

Here's the one thing: The voters have finally decided that it's time for the spending-addicted government to check into rehab.

In California, Democrats and Republicans alike have taken a stand and rejected out of control government spending and let me tell you something: If California is getting sick of spending and higher taxes, then the rest of the country must be really sick of it.

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Wednesday's special election was the second victory for those who went to the tea parties. I'll explain in a minute, but first I want to look at the results, which made a strong statement to the politicians whose policies have led to a $21 billion deficit for the state.

Those on the "yes" side of Wednesday's election spent three times more money on ads than those who were opposed to it — yet all but one of the ballot propositions went down by about a two-to-one margin.

For once, principles actually trumped politics.

But the results are even more striking than those numbers indicate. Not one county — not even Los Angeles County — supported raising taxes by an estimated $16 billion. The one measure that did pass was stopping lawmakers from getting pay raises (above the $116-212,000 they currently make), with about three out of four people voting for it.

Governor Schwarzenegger attempted a huge bluff by saying that firefighters, police and teachers would lose their jobs and rapists would be roaming the streets and all Californian children would become retarded.

Californians weren't buying it; they called his bluff and the governor folded.

Meanwhile, the 77 percent of Californians who didn't vote (compare that to 79 percent who did vote in the presidential election) sent another message: A lot of people believe their vote is worthless or, better yet, doesn't really count.

Take Proposition 8 for example: The court opened the issue up to the people, who promptly voted it down; the court opened it up again — this time they tried re-wording it — and it got voted down again. Yet now it's back in California Supreme Court and the reports are that Prop 8 is on it's way to being overturned.

You'd think that with all the focus groups and opinion polls politicians take, they'd be a little closer to the pulse of America and sporting more than an approval rating in the teens.

The arrogance is amazing. They really don't care what you think. Even when you vote for something twice, they think it was just because they mis-worded. "Could the public really be this dumb?" they think to themselves.

As Thomas Jefferson famously said, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

The government doesn't fear anyone now, but I think the politicians in California are in for a rude awakening: They're ignoring the will of the people and history has shown that that always has consequences.

Thank you, voters of California, for standing up to an out-of-control government. This might be the first and only time I ever say this, but here's hoping the rest of the country follows your lead.

— Watch "Glenn Beck" weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on FOX News Channel