The GOP Plan to Steal California in 2008

This post, written by Howie Klein, originally appeared on Down With Tyranny!

If you think the Bush Regime came into power in 2000, and retained it in 2004, fair and square this post probably isn't for you. (That said, I doubt this particular blog is.) Over the course of the last few weeks Californians have been made aware that a shadowy right wing figure, a very wealthy shadowy right wing figure, as a matter of fact, is putting together an assault on the California's ability to deliver its 55 electoral votes to the Democratic nominee for president. Like all but two small states, California awards its treasure trove of electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis.

The kinds of policies one must espouse to win the approval of the Republican base of backward neo-Confederate bigots and paranoid Know Nothings precludes any realistic chance of someone who could win the Republican nomination also winning a majority of votes in a progressive and enlightened state like California. However, California has it's pockets of backwardness too. How else could you account for a congressional delegation that includes some of the most reactionary and corrupt members anywhere-- like Gary Miller, Ken Calvert, Jerry Lewis, John Doolittle, Buck McKeon, Kevin McCarthy, John Campbell, George Radanovich, Devin Nunes, Wally Herger, Dan Lungren, Darrell Issa, David Dreier, Elton Gallegly, and Duncan Hunter?

The Republican proposal mandates awarding presidential electoral votes based on the contests in each district. I think a better idea would just be to get rid of the purposely anti-democratic electoral college entirely. If Delaware, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and a handful of states few people live in nix that, I could even go along with this GOP proposal-- as soon as it's adopted by Texas, Florida and Georgia. But the Republican plan is not meant to reform our electoral system and make it fairer. It's simply intended to try a power grab for the radical right that dominates the national GOP. They expect to use it to shave 20 electoral votes off the Democratic total. Take a look at electoral California by congressional district. These are the results of the 2004 election, showing the congressional district number, the percentage of votes Kerry got, the percentage of votes cast by the ignorant and deluded or by willful fascists for Bush and the name of the district's congressmember: