Speaking of California, Dan Walters explains the state’s dilemma in easily-understandable terms:
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Schwarzenegger has overreached and fails, thus persuading him to not seek re-election next year or making him easy pickings for a Democratic challenger, and once again placing the governorship and the Legislature in Democratic hands.
The scenario raises this question: Could a Democrat – any Democrat – govern successfully with state government constituted as it is now, or would he or she be doomed to failure? The rise and fall of the last Democratic governor, Gray Davis, may be an omen for Democrats who yearn so ardently for Schwarzenegger to disappear from politics.
Davis, it should be noted for those with impaired memories, is the only governor in California history to have been recalled. And while Davis’ own proclivities – especially his reluctance to make decisions – contributed mightily to his downfall, a major, perhaps decisive, factor was simply that he was a Democratic governor dealing with an increasingly liberal Legislature.
About 25 percent of California’s voters describe themselves as liberals, and about 30 percent as conservatives, with the rest being self-portrayed moderates, but the Legislature – thanks largely to the collateral effects of the legislative district gerrymander enacted in 2001 – now effectively reflects only the 25 percent who are liberals.
The Legislature began to drift to the left after the 2000 elections, and the trend accelerated in the two elections that followed due to the gerrymander, with the ranks of moderate Democrats thinning almost to the point of extinction. The same was true of Republican moderates, but because they are the minority party, it didn’t make much difference in what happened.
The gerrymandered legislature is too far to the left, and it actually promotes tribal warfare rather than consensus. Democracy can’t work in the social atmosphere of California, so the most meaningful reform would be redistricting to get rid of “safe” Dem and Rep seats in the legislature. This isn’t business vs. the people, it’s the political parties vs. the people. And Schwarzenegger is backing just such a reform.