GOP Moderates Get Rebuked Again

Steven Greenhut: Republican moderates, and members of the state’s centrist business community, typically have more money than good sense as they push ahead one fix after another for California’s dismal political situation, none of which ever works or even moves us in the right direction. These GOP moderates usually are solid when they identify California’s problems, but they seem to believe that a series of process changes can fix things. They never have the courage to take on the real elephants (donkeys?) in the living room. For years, we’ve heard from these types that redistricting will help solve the state’s problems. I agreed that the current districts are badly gerrymandered — politicians pick their voters rather than the other way around — and supported redistricting reform, although I never believed that this would do more than add one or two competitive races statewide. Now, the Sacramento Bee’s Dan Walters reports that the redistricting commission has been co-opted by the Left, which shows once again how Republicans get outsmarted at every turn. We cannot fix this state until we take on the power of the unions. That means real tough political battles rather than the tinkering-around-the-edges process reforms advocated by moderates. Unfortunately, conservatives seem to be focused on the wrong issues (immigration, gay marriage, etc.) and are not able to connect with the public. What a mess. But once again we see that all the well-funded moderate political reforms in the world will end up getting us nowhere.

MARCH 25