By DON CURLEE

What ever happened to common sense? Many farmers in California are asking themselves that question as they view the antics of legislators at both the state and federal levels.

The water issue is a case in point, but it's not the only matter that sheds light on the missing ingredient. On that score most farmers believe common sense was applied fully in the development of the state's water plan more than 60 years ago. They are not quite so clear about the time it was tossed out of the equation, but they're sure it's gone.

Common sense tells them that elected representatives are sent to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to express the wishes, opinions and good judgment of their constituents.

Instead, they see heavy-stakes crap shoots occurring, and arm twisting by party leaders that overrides the loyalty that individual legislators used to feel for those who elected them.

Farmers don't always know what causes their representatives to abandon the path of representative democracy, but they're sick of it. A huge, third of a page advertisement in a major San Joaquin Valley daily newspaper recently expressed the frustration.

The ad was simple and straightforward. It included the names of 150 or more farmers and farming companies saying they will no longer support the Congressman that many of them helped to elect. The list of names had to include some of the largest financial contributors to the legislator's several campaigns.

In addition to simply not expressing their needs in strong enough terms on the House floor, he ticked them off by issuing what appeared to be an off-hand comment about his position as opposed to theirs. It was not well received.

That's only the tip of the iceberg in the case of this particular representative.

Behind the public expression is a full-scale campaign to unseat the congressman by supporting his opponent in the next election. His opponent is of the opposite party, but many farmer/voters feel he has shown a much more heartfelt understanding of the issues at hand, particularly water.

Other candidates in other parts of the state, especially in locales where agriculture is heavily represented, are likely to experience similar treatment as their terms end and elections approach.

Agriculture, particularly in California, is a fascinating industry. Writing about it and its people is a joy. But to represent it accurately these days requires reporting the heartache and revolutionary spirit that prevails in the industry. That spirit is fired by the comments and the votes, the alliances and the disloyalty of legislators who have lost touch with common sense, assuming they ever had it.

The "pretty in pink" stories about reformed city dwellers who are raising squash and cucumbers organically on a Santa Cruz County hillside are there to be told. Their excitement about farmers markets and community alliances is there to be captured.

But the down deep feeling for high volume commercial agriculture that contributes astoundingly to the state's economic base can't be dismissed. Legislators and other observers who try to do so at the expense of common sense are flirting with disaster, their own and the industry's.

Those wondering where common sense has gone need only visit a farmer. He will be glad to share some with them. And the price will be right.

Don Curlee is a freelance ag writer and editor based in Clovis. E-mail: agwriter1@aol.com.