THE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO STEAL THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION-- IN CALIFORNIA

If you think the Bush Regime came into power in 2000, and retained it in 2004, fair and square this post probably isn't for you. (That said, I doubt this particular blog is.) Over the course of the last few weeks Californians have been made aware that a shadowy right wing figure, a very wealthy shadowy right wing figure, as a matter of fact, is putting together an assault on the California's ability to deliver its 55 electoral votes to the Democratic nominee for president. Like all but two small states, California awards its treasure trove of electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis.

The kinds of policies one must espouse to win the approval of the Republican base of backward neo-Confederate bigots and paranoid Know Nothings precludes any realistic chance of someone who could win the Republican nomination also winning a majority of votes in a progressive and enlightened state like California. However, California has it's pockets of backwardness too. How else could you account for a congressional delegation that includes some of the most reactionary and corrupt members anywhere-- like Gary Miller, Ken Calvert, Jerry Lewis, John Doolittle, Buck McKeon, Kevin McCarthy, John Campbell, George Radanovich, Devin Nunes, Wally Herger, Dan Lungren, Darrell Issa, David Dreier, Elton Gallegly, and Duncan Hunter?

The Republican proposal mandates awarding presidential electoral votes based on the contests in each district. I think a better idea would just be to get rid of the purposely anti-democratic electoral college entirely. If Delaware, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and a handful of states few people live in nix that, I could even go along with this GOP proposal-- as soon as it's adopted by Texas, Florida and Georgia. But the Republican plan is not meant to reform our electoral system and make it fairer. It's simply intended to try a power grab for the radical right that dominates the national GOP. They expect to use it to shave 20 electoral votes off the Democratic total. Take a look at electoral California by congressional district. These are the results of the 2004 election, showing the congressional district number, the percentage of votes Kerry got, the percentage of votes cast by the ignorant and deluded or by willful fascists for Bush and the name of the district's congressmember:

1- 59.7% 38.4% - THOMPSON
2- 36.6% 62.0% - HERGER
3- 40.8% 58.2% - LUNGREN
4- 37.4% 61.3% - DOOLITTLE
5- 61.1% 37.9% - MATSUI
6- 70.3% 28.1% - WOOLSEY
7- 67.1% 31.8%- MILLER
8- 84.2% 14.0% - PELOSI
9- 85.9% 12.6% - LEE
10- 58.5% 40.4% - TAUSCHER
11- 45.3% 53.9% - McNERNEY
12- 71.5% 27.2% - LANTOS
13- 70.9% 28.0% - STARK
14- 68.3% 30.1% - ESHOO
15- 62.9% 35.9% - HONDA
16- 63.4% 35.5% - LOFGREN
17- 65.6% 33.0% - FARR
18- 49.3% 49.6%- CARDOZA
19- 37.9% 61.1% - RADANOVICH
20- 50.6% 48.5% - COSTA
21- 33.7% 65.4% - NUNES
22- 31.0% 67.9% - McCARTHY
23- 58.3% 40.3% - CAPPS
24- 43.1% 55.7% - GALLEGLY
25- 39.9% 58.8% - McKEON
26- 43.7% 55.1% - DREIER
27- 59.3% 39.3% - SHERMAN
28- 71.0% 27.9% - BERMAN
29- 61.2% 37.4% - SCHIFF
30- 66.1% 32.8% - WAXMAN
31- 76.9% 21.6% - BECERRA
32- 62.3% 36.6% - SOLIS
33- 82.8% 15.9% - WATSON (aka- Howie's district)
34- 68.8% 29.8% - ROYBAL-ALLARD
35- 79.0% 20.0% - WATERS
36- 59.0% 39.6% - HARMAN
37- 73.5% 25.2% - MILLENDER-McDONALD (RIP)
38- 65.3% 33.6% - NAPOLITANO
39- 58.5% 40.3% - LINDA SANCHEZ
40- 38.4% 60.2% - ROYCE
41- 36.9% 61.8% - LEWIS
42- 36.9% 62.0% - MILLER
43- 58.1% 40.7% - BACA
44- 39.9% 59.0% - CALVERT
45- 43.1% 56.0% - BONO
46- 41.6% 56.9% - ROHRABACHER
47- 48.6% 50.0% - LORETTA SANCHEZ
48- 40.4% 58.3% - CAMPBELL
49- 36.5% 62.5% - ISSA
50- 43.9% 55.2% - BILBRAY
51- 53.4% 45.7% - FILNER
52- 37.7% 61.4% - HUNTER
53- 61.2% 37.6% - DAVIS

The Republicans could never win California, but they could possibly win 22 votes, more than the entire state of Ohio! According to our pals at the Courage Campaign "The
lawyers for the Republican Party that have filed this initiative will pay $1.5 million or more to put this on the ballot. That's right, they'll buy signatures. Then, they'll get money from every right wing conservative corporation and person in the country to advertise and try to buy votes by confusing people with manipulative ads-- you know the ones that say up is down and black is white. They're already claiming this initiative will bring "fairness" and "democracy" to California. Give me a break.
Karl Rove may be leaving the White House but his tactics are alive and well in California. But we can stop them by pledging to oppose this right-wing power grab today."

As surely as the Republicans stole the election of 2000 in Florida and 2004 in Ohio, they plan to steal 2008 in California, That Courage Campaign link above is a place where you can get involved in stopping them. It's worth the effort. Or do you want another 4 or 8 years of Bush-like rule?


ANOTHER FAR BETTER PLAN TO ELECT PRESIDENTS

David Dayen has the full story at Calitics. Essentially, there are now two competing propositions, the Republican one that would be ridiculously unfair to impose on California without similar legislation in the rest of the country, and now a Democratic (and democratic) one that actually calls for electing presidents through the popular vote. Long overdue.