The Republicans (at least most of them) are cheering the defeat of Prop 93 which would have extended the terms of some legislators temporarily but reduced terms overall. I believe elections are the best term limits available and really had no dog in this hunt. So Speaker Nunez and Senate President Perata will be gone by January. So what? Just who do Republicans think will replace them? Other Republicans? Nope. Different people, different liberal Democrats, same perspective.
State Senator Jim Battin has already posted on the Flash Report that the defeat of Prop would likely cost Republicans seats in the Senate and Assembly.
The Republicans have handled this whole Feb 5 election badly. To begin with, many opposed moving the date to Feb 5 because of the cost (which didn’t bother them when it was the 2003 recall or Arnold’s 2005 special election), then they tried to adjust the way delegates were awarded in the presidential general election to split delegates by congressional district. Then they refused to allow independents and DTS voters to cast a ballot in their primary, alienating a huge chunk of the voting population that they will need in November to win anything.
Meanwhile, suport for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have spurred hugh increases in Democratic voter registration. Democrats represent 43 percent of the state’s voters while Republicans have seen rgeistration drop to 33 percent and heading downwards since so many are so unhappy with John McCain. With only one in three California voters a Republican, and even fewer a conservative Republican, the conservative agenda here is rapidly evolving into the overtired child in the bouncy at a birthday party; crybabies if things don’t bounce their way.
The defeat of Prop 93 will likely cause Republicans to lose seats in the assembly and senate. But so blinded to this, conservative Republicans leading the charge will now see new races for open seats with an infused and energized Democratic contender in once safe Republican districts.
So Prop 93 goes down and with it the assembly term of Rep. Todd Spitzer, and the terming out of Rep. Chuck DeVore (should be win a third term this fall) and State Senator Tom Harmon. Bye fellas!
More importantly, we got rid of Fabian Nunez and Don Perata. You Democrats need to stop electing unethical politicians. It really makes your party look bad. Just look at the clowns on the Santa Ana City Council. They are just as bad as Nunez and Perata, with the singular exception of Michele Martinez.
I am glad the initiative failed. I don’t believe in term limits, but to have this initiative on the ballot without re-districting was ridiculous.
Why are Republicans obsessed on redisticting? Cannot they read the trends? California is becoming less Republican, not more Republican.
Redistricting is supported by Republicans and feared by Democrats, yet I cannot see why.
When we had fair court-mandated re-districting in 1991 the Republicans never controlled the state Senate and only briefly managed the State Assembly.
With California trending Democratic and DTS, the solution is not redistricting reform for the State Legislature, it is time for a radical overhaul of how we elect our state lawmakers.
It’s time to have a non-parisan state legislature.