IT LOOKS LIKE GAVIN IS GOING TO TRY TO DO IT

By Bob Walsh

 

It looks like Gavin Newsom is so desperate to be seen to be peeing in Donald Trump's corn flakes that he is going to try to get the legislature to invalidate several laws, at least one of them passed by the voters, to get the legislature to redistrict CA ahead of the 2026 election.  He is absolutely desperate to do everything he can to cut into whatever vote advantage Trump may have in congress after the midterms.

What Gavin wants to do is gerrymander CA even more than it already is to get a few more Democrat-Socialist safe seats in congress, and therefore a few LESS Republican seats.  The split is so tight that two or three might make a big difference.  He seems to believe that he and his progressive cronies can squeeze four or maybe even five seats out of the mix.  He is pushing the legislature to do it, at least quietly from the background.

Gavin just meet with Democrat-Socialist representatives from Texas to discuss the matter.  He is severely tweaked that Texas may very well go ahead and redistrict ahead of the midterms, thereby likely giving Trump a few more seats.  Such redistricting is perfectly legal under Texas law.  Kind of sleazy maybe, but legal.  

Back in 2008 CA voters created an independent Citizen Redistricting Commission which drew the lines in 2010 and 2020, after the federal census.  The voters got sickened by the heavy duty political hack jobs that were setting up districts that looked like they were drawn by drunk chickens.  So far this procedure has worked reasonably well.  But Gavin wants power.  More and more and more power.  Fuck what the citizens want.  The peasants should shut up and do what they are told.  Gavin has yet again called Donald Trump an "existential threat to Democracy" totally ignoring the fact that the Texas redistricting move is completely legal where, under current law, the CA possible move is certainly not.  It should also be noted that back in 2022 Newsom said specifically that he very much WANTED the Citizen Redistricting Committee operation to remain in place.  Right now CA has 52 congressional seats, 43 of which are held by Democrats.  It is likely that CA will lose at least two seats and maybe as many as four or possibly even five after the next census due to taxpayers fleeing the state.  (He still denies that is happening.  He may even believe his own bullshit.)  Newsom is essentially saying that the Republicans are FORCING him to make a move that he really doesn't like.  Kind of like a drunk saying 'BITCH YOU MAKE ME DO THIS" while he is thumping his wife. 

Gavin is sort-of exploring two options.  One would dump the committee.  The other would leave it in place but do a special redistricting before 2026, set up and run by the legislature.  Newsom says he thinks that would be legal and that they could pull it off, though the expense would be considerable.  As would the legal battle.  

It must be hard to be Gavin.  Being such an arrogant asshole while trying to pretend he is a man of the people must make his brain hurt.

If he wants to call a special session he will have to do it fairly soon to get the ball rolling.  Time is not on his side.