Commish Gives Dems 2/3 Majority

John Seiler:

A year and a half ago I was the first person to predict that, in 2012 or 2014, redistricting would bring Democrats two-thirds majorities in both houses of the California Legislature. My March 10, 2010 article, “Census Pushing Dems to 2/3 Majority,” still is relevant reading.

Demographic changes were the main reason. Immigrants in recent years have voted about 70 percent Democratic. More immigrants, more Democrats.

Looks like it will be 2012, thanks to a boost from the so-called “independent” California Citizen Redistricting Commission. Reports the Bee:

An independent California commission has set the stage for what could be the largest shake-up of the state’s political system in decades – and potentially give Democrats a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature.

As John Hrabe has reported on CalWatchDog.com in a series or articles, the commission has been seriously compromised by the previously undisclosed, radical political ties and high Democratic partisanship of commissioners Gabino Aguirre and Jeanne Raya.

The Bee:

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro was laying the groundwork Monday to fight some or all of the maps, saying attorneys were considering either a lawsuit or a referendum that would place the issue before voters.

Asked if the commission’s final product would give Democrats a two-thirds majority in the Legislature, Del Beccaro said simply, “I think it has raised the stakes for that considerably.”

Legal challenges could get the whole mess thrown out, with the maps drawn by the state Supreme Court, as happened in 1991. Meaning the entire process of involving “independent” citizens was a typically Californian waste of time and taxpayer dollars.

They would have been better off turning a state map into a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, throwing the pieces up in the air, then reassemblying them at random.

July 26, 2011