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Thomas Elias: State split scheme purely political

Posted by: Maven on April 19, 2009 at 6:36 am

From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

It’s not that Bill Maze and the Central Valley farm interests now helping him hate the Pacific Ocean. Nor do those supporting his newest idea think splitting California would be a great thing for most people in the state.

Nope, the frustration behind their effort to divide the state on something like an east-west basis comes from a conviction that their conservative ideologies are doomed forever to minority status in the existing California. In short, as things now stand they have no hope of winning much of anything.

Never mind that three of the last four governors have been Republicans. Never mind that state legislators for the first time ever will not draw their own district lines in the next reapportionment, set to come just after the 2010 Census. That’s the essence of the plan promoted by Maze, a termed out Republican member of the state Assembly from Visalia, previously best known for proposing a law foridding motorists from driving with dogs on their laps.

You know Maze & Co. don’t hate the ocean because their proposed breakaway state would include San Diego and Orange counties, along with all 43 inland counties from Imperial to Siskiyou, plus the coastal northern counties of Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte. They would cut loose the 13 coastal and San Francisco Bay area counties from Los Angeles to Marin to go their own way.

This idea is purely political, of course. Yes, the North Coast counties have tended to vote Democratic in the last few elections, and even though San Diego voted for Barack Obama last year, they would still be the only solidly Demo parts of the breakaway state. So this putative new state – perhaps called Bifurkifornia – would be assured of a Republican governor and legislature, two Republican U.S. senators and a predominantly GOP delegation in the House.

Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune by clicking here.

April 19, 2009 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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