Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
Oh, hell…
The GOP in California is pushing hard to get a ballot proposal passed that would change the way that the state’s 55 electoral votes are awarded. Under the proposed rule, the winner of the statewide popular vote would no longer get all the electoral marbles. Instead, he/she would get two electoral votes plus one vote for each congressional district the candidate “wins.”
This sort of system is not new (Maine and Nebraska use similar methods for distributing electoral votes), and had the proposal come up in any other state, I don’t think this would be as big an issue. However, we’re talking about California, which is a) the most populous state in the Union, and thus a hefty political prize, b) long-considered a Democratic stronghold, much as Texas is for the Republicans, and c) California is the only place where this nonsense is being attempted. That, and the fact that the effort is being led by one Thomas Hiltachk, a GOP legal eagle, gives the proposal the strong odor of fetid cow pies.
With Rethuglican chances for victory in ‘08 between slim and none, and slim boarding The Last Train to Clarksville™, the desperation has clearly set in. It’s no longer about subtle hacking of Diebold machines or Tammany Hall-style voter suppression, it’s about naked, ham-fisted bludgeoning of democracy.
“Boss Tweed” would be proud.
