Yes, Gavin Newsom’s Latest Is a Redistricting Scheme
The legislature of the Golden State recently came up with a proposed redistricting plan, which is spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif.
Democrats are taking a democracy-destroying approach to supposedly save democracy. Wobbly-headed, but after all, this is the left coast.
The whole thing is a dangerous step backwards for the state, and even more importantly, for the nation at large.
Here’s the skinny.
In 2008 and 2010, California voters decisively approved Propositions 11 and 20, creating the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC). The goal was to draw fair and impartial district lines for future state and congressional elections.
The bipartisan citizen-led body was designed to remove the taint of political self-interest from the redistricting process.
The CRC’s maps, drawn after extensive public input and certified in 2021, were crafted to reflect California’s diverse population and to ensure competitive representative districts.
Polls indicate that Californians overwhelmingly support the independent commission, with 64% favoring its continued authority over line-drawing as compared to only 36% that back legislative control.
The results of the poll make sense because the voters themselves created the CRC to keep the hands of politicians off congressional maps.
With the backing of former President Barack Obama and other Democratic Party figures, California Democrats moved full steam ahead, opting to dismantle the system and sideline the CRC to allow Dem lawmakers to draw new congressional maps that favor their own party.
It is a blatant underhanded way to bypass the current system. Here’s how the whole thing went down.
Democrats introduced a constitutional amendment that would suspend the CRC’s authority, ostensibly temporarily.
Then they proceeded to draft maps behind closed doors, without any public hearings and minus the all-important input from the community.
With political dissecting tools in hand, they split counties a hefty 16 times, and cities over 100 times.
The map will only take effect if voters approve it in a special election which is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2025.
The election will be a referendum on whether Californians are going to value their own democratic reforms and protect the independent CRC, or whether they will fall prey to the same partisan gamesmanship they once rejected.
Ironically, implementation of the Dem’s plan will end up shredding the very democratic reforms that Californians fought so hard for. Adding insult to injury, the purported tab for the financially strapped state may run as high as $250 million.
The tortured redistricting approach is a complete betrayal of voter intent.
Additionally, it’s a logistical and ethical nightmare.
Here’s why. The design requires that a constitutional amendment be passed, which would have to be rushed through via a questionable legislative tactic that would bypass the state’s 30-day public review rule.
Republican lawmakers have already filed a lawsuit, which contends that the legislative process violates California’s constitutional requirement that bills be in circulation for at least 30 days prior to a vote by the legislature.
The plaintiffs also contend in the lawsuit that the new map was drawn secretly without meaningful public input, which undermines transparency and democratic participation.
There are broader legal concerns as well, due to a 1983 California Supreme Court ruling prohibiting mid-decade redistricting. It’s this prohibition that Democrats seek to override via a new amendment to the state constitution.
The Dem’s game plan is likely to face additional legal challenges.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has vowed to fight it “in the courts and at the ballot box.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, is launching a “legal war” against it as well.
Democrats have enlisted some support from former President Obama, who has chimed in, endorsing the plan and characterizing it as a “responsible approach” and a “smart, measured approach.”
Proponents argue that it’s a necessary counter to Republican redistricting in Texas.
By overriding the CRC, the new maps will eliminate five Republican seats, tilting California’s already left-wing legislature even further to the left, creating a hyper-partisan map that stifles competition and marginalizes voters.
So, it looks as though the scheme may actually kick off a redistricting war nationally, inviting both parties to manipulate congressional maps to the max.
This is a game that Republicans will likely win, since most blue states have already been highly distorted by previous gerrymandering.
In truth, the California Democratic plan doesn’t really deserve to succeed.
Internal polling shows a thin 52% level of voter support, which is likely to sink even lower due to a well-funded information campaign backed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican donors, and a coalition of groups that includes Common Cause.
But the more important reason it doesn’t deserve to succeed is because it’s one more in a series of schemes, courtesy of a party that just can’t bring itself to even want to win elections on merit.
A party that is top-heavy with members who are way too busy admiring themselves in the mirror to notice their constituents have left the room.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read James Hirsen’s Reports — More Here.
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