EDITORIAL PARTISAN POLITICS RIGGED DISTRICTS ARE GOOD FOR DEMS, GOP; BAD FOR CALIFORNIA.ACROSS America, the Nov. 7 election is supposed to be a critical test of the electorate's view of our government, with Republicans expected to take a beating at the hands of worried voters. But not in California. No, here there will be no political seaquakes. If Democrats retake re·take tr.v. re·took , re·tak·en , re·tak·ing, re·takes 1. To take back or again. 2. To recapture. 3. To photograph, film, or record again. n. 1. the U.S. House of Representatives, it won't be because of significant gains in the Golden State. Most, if not all, of our 53 congressional seats will remain in control of whatever party controls them now. It's the same story in the state Assembly and Senate. A strong year for Democrats across the country won't do a thing to increase the party's majority in the California Legislature. And even though Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] will likely win re-election handily hand·i·ly adv. 1. In an easy manner. 2. In a convenient manner. Adv. 1. handily - in a convenient manner; "the switch was conveniently located" conveniently 2. , don't expect his coattails coat·tail n. 1. The loose back part of a coat that hangs below the waist. 2. coattails The skirts of a formal or dress coat. Idiom: on the coattails of 1. to bring any legislative Republicans with him to Sacramento. California's congressional and legislative delegations are pretty much immune to the fluctuations of politics. They don't respond to shifts in public opinion and democracy's self- correcting pressures. For that, we can thank our corrupt, gerrymandered districts. When the state's top Democrats and Republicans last carved carve v. carved, carv·ing, carves v.tr. 1. a. To divide into pieces by cutting; slice: carved a roast. b. up California's political boundaries, they drew the lines in such a way as to guarantee one party or the other control of virtually every district. That way, the pols could be sure that their jobs would never be at risk within their ``safe'' boundaries. Their action has made the general election in California all but meaningless. The incumbents almost never lose. And, by extension, no party can ever be punished, no matter how badly it fails the public, whether in Washington or in Sacramento. This is partisan politics at its worst -- that is, politics in the service of political parties and the mediocrities they mostly put forward as candidates. And until the state adopts a sensible redistricting redistricting: see legislative apportionment. plan, partisan politics will continue to make a mockery Mockery Abas changed into lizard for mocking Demeter. [Rom. Myth: Metamorphoses, Zimmerman, 1] Beckmesser pompous object of practical jokes. [Ger. of California elections. CAPTION(S): box Box: Daily News Endorsements To Date |
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