Letter: Proposition 50 protects democracy from partisan manipulation
To the editor:
– If California were a country, it would be the fourth-largest economy in the world, trailing only the United States itself, China, and Germany. If California were a country, it would exert immense influence around the world due to its prowess in the agricultural, technological, educational, and entertainment industries. California’s leadership in the area of individual rights would be viewed by the world with envy.
However, California is not a nation; it is one of 50 states in our great country, albeit one that provides a lot more revenue to the country’s coffers than it receives in Federal benefits. As such, we cannot pretend that we live in a vacuum, unaffected by what other states do.
Our state has been justifiably proud of its impartial redistricting process in the past, so it is understandable that many question the proposed changes and oppose the Proposition 50 ballot initiative to temporarily change the redistricting process in response to Texas’ shameless bowing to the will of President Trump’s statement that “We are entitled to 5 more seats” in Texas. President Trump is worried that the upcoming midterm elections will remove the iron grip he now has over the well-being of ALL the country’s citizens, including California’s 39 million people.
Assuming that we all agree that impartial and independent periodic realignment of congressional districts would be best for the country in the long run, it is critically important that the extreme gerrymandering process that Trump has set in motion must be negated. If there is ANY hope at all for a rational national political system to be put in place, the House of Representatives must be swung to the side of the Democratic Party. Then we would at least have a chance at national legislation that would ensure an impartial and fair process that would treat all citizens of the country equally.
One final thought: if you have ever cringed at even one of the many things that this president has done to undermine the wellbeing of the vast majority of our citizens while enriching the richest of the rich; if you have ever worried that he is trying to turn the United States into a glitzy dictatorship a la his single-handed, no-national-discussion transformation of our White House into a gilded ballroom for showing off to the elite elements of national and global society; if you have had even a second of concern about his actions to turn our nation’s proud military into a national police force more concerned about policing its own citizenry than providing true national security… then you MUST vote YES on Proposition 50 to give us a chance to save our country.
Dug Chisholm
Atascadero
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