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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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February 6, 2012
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 11, 2005
/ 30 Adar 1, 5765
Schwarzenegger's bold move
By
Dick Morris
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has heard the message of President Bush's stirring second inaugural address, promoting democracy and human freedom throughout the globe. He has initiated a ballot proposal for California that would extend the reach of free and fair elections to the farthest corner of our planet — the U.S. House of Representatives.
Schwarzenegger is proposing to overturn the ridiculously partisan gerrymandering of the congressional and state legislative seats in California and would give the power to draw new lines to a nonpartisan commission of retired jurists. Patterned after the highly successful nonpolitical reapportionment process in Iowa, Schwarzenegger's plan would force a dose of democracy down the throats of the state Legislature and the state's congressional delegation.
Partisan gerrymandering has almost eliminated the right of election of the lower house of our Congress, intended by the Framers to be the more democratic of the houses. All told, fewer than 25 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives are marginal swing districts, the deliberate result of a bipartisan deal to carve up the seats in state after state between the political parties. Senate seats are now more competitive than are House seats for one simple reason: The politicians cannot gerrymander state lines.
In California, for example, no incumbent was defeated in 2004 and only one — Gary Condit — lost his seat in 2002 out of the 54 members of the state's congressional delegation.
After the census of 1980, in the elections of 1982, 41 incumbents lost their seats, as they had to run in their new districts. After the 1990 census, 39 incumbents sought and failed to secure reelection. But after the 2000 census, and the bipartisan deal-making, only 16 members failed to win reelection and eight lost when they were pitted against fellow incumbents as a result of their states' shrinking population.
In California — and in New York — deals were cut to protect incumbents from defeat after the new district lines were drawn. Registered Democrats were put into districts represented by Democrats. Republicans were delighted to ensure these Democratic congressmen a free ride so that they could empty Democratic voters out of the swing districts on which control of Congress depended. The Democratic Party, essentially, agreed to trade a lifetime tenure in the Congress for its existing members for any real shot at regaining control of the House until after the 2012 apportionment.
In Iowa, by contrast, the commission that draws the lines for House districts is expressly prohibited from considering incumbency, party or voting patterns in reapportionment. As a result, three of the 25 districts that are considered competitive in House elections are located in tiny Iowa, with only 1 percent of the nation's population.
Schwarzenegger's initiative would transform the national political landscape and make the huge California delegation subject, once again, to democratic selection. The Putin-esque attempts of both parties to fix the electoral process by skillful gerrymandering will be overturned. And, more important, California will set a precedent that one hopes will be copied by other states — including New York — in the future.
Naturally, the politicians in Sacramento are doing their best to frustrate the governor's proposals. Claiming that they are open to negotiations to accomplish the ends of his ballot proposition, they are attacking him for going over their heads to the people in his initiative. But their cries of alarm are totally phony.
After all, it is they who committed the sin of gerrymandering in the first place. It is to undo their deals that the governor is courageously going directly to the people.
Schwarzenegger's other major proposal is to require that public-school teachers be paid based on their merit, not on their seniority. New York's supposed friends of education have fallen in line behind the teachers union's opposition to merit pay and have toed the line in support of seniority-based compensation. But Schwarzenegger recognizes that only by rewarding competence and punishing failure can we provide quality education to our children.
Schwarzenegger is pointing the way. One can only hope that New York's politicians will follow. Fat chance.
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JWR contributor Dick Morris is author, most recently, of "Because He Could". (ClickHERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.
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