Electoral vote power grab in California?

I say - if you are going to do it in one state, do it in all of the states (might be fun in Indiana.) But if you are going to cherry-pick only states that will give GOP advantage -- geez guys, haven't we seen this before? Will you guys stop at nothing to rig rig rig elections?

Let us freaking VOTE already.



Here is the story, from Huffington Post - by Senator Barbara Boxer:

If you haven't heard already, Republican strategists recently announced plans to begin raising money for a dangerous initiative that would radically change the way California apportions our electoral votes in presidential elections. Rather than awarding all of California's electoral votes to the candidate that wins the popular vote -- the way it works in every single state except the small states of Maine and Nebraska -- their scheme would divvy up California's electoral votes based on the number of Congressional districts each candidate wins.

What does this mean? Well, if the last few elections are any guide, rather than the Democratic nominee winning all 55 of California's electoral votes in 2008, this new partisan scheme could hand 20 of California's electoral votes to the Republican candidate and only 35 to the Democrat.

Don't get me wrong: After the 2000 and 2004 election debacles, I'm a strong advocate for election reform. But it's absolutely wrong for California to go it alone. It's just patently unfair for a large "blue" state like California to change our system for awarding electoral votes while other large states which trend "red" like Texas and Florida don't change their system at the same time.

This isn't reform -- this is a partisan power grab by Republican operatives in the Karl Rove tradition.

Here we go again.

Just another brick in the voting wall. The GOP will try to block Democrats from voting where they can, change electoral rules where it will benefit the GOP (but never Democrats, as if they were to change this in Indiana or say Texas;) change entire districting -- and then plant their easy to hack Diebold machines without paper trails from sea to shining sea.

At least a few Democrats are finally putting up a fight (not that the Democrats haven't done their share of this in the past - Chicago's original Mayor Daley made partisan politics into an art form, where even the dead turned out the vote.)

I am growing tired of the banana republic. Surely we can do better than this -- all of this.

If you want to help Barbara Boxer fight this California electoral vote grab, sign her petition here.

Personally, I wish we could do one of two things: either do away with all parties, and thus 'party politics' and the inherent corruption, or move to a parliamentary style government with many parties represented. Our current parties represent... well hardly anyone these days. I think most Republicans and many Democrats would agree with me.