Not to take anything away from the Golden State, which introduced open primaries and gave responsibility to an independent commission to set state and federal boundaries for elections, but its also important to keep in mind that California has become a Blue, Blue state, with a Republican party that is almost none existent. The previous districting in CA was such that only extremists (of either party) could be elected, and poor Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite his best intentions (of which I devoutly wish he had had more in his personal life, but never mind), could not make any headway against the far right-wing of his party during most of his tenure in office. It was an absolute nightmare! How many years was the budget overdue by months? Months, I might add, during which the state govt workers were not paid, to the extent that the Golden One Credit Union actually had a deal with its public-sector customers that it would lend them, at a reduced interest rate, a sum each month in the amount of their salary so they could make ends meet! A few years ago the talk among people I knew was of declaring CA a failed state and calling a constitutional convention because Prop 13 had screwed things up so badly, and the State Assembly were so deadlocked, that it seemed as though there was no hope for any progress, ever. I have nothing but respect for Jerry Brown--unlike politicians in Washington, he makes the hard choices and takes his medicine. He is a true statesman. May his influence on the state endure, and may the non-partisan redistricting continue to bear fruit.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 05:55:11 +0000
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