Splitting California may be one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard of. Unless, of course, you want to destroy the world’s fifth largest economy.
If the measure passed, I’m sure Congress would leap at the chance to give California four more senators.
Fun times. Dumb idea,. Why would anyone want to knowingly dilute the social, political and economic power of the 5th largest economy in the world? hmmmm I wonder.
Which is why Russia has been supporting all sorts of American separatist movements for quite awhile now.
Free thinkers, progressives, atheists and agnostics should buy an island somewhere far, far away and make it the country of Christianistan. Put religious people on boats and ship them to this Garden of Eden where they can live out their psycho lives in blissful ignorance, bigotry, fear, and guilt. But, please, let’s leave California the way it is.
The article should mention that Tim Draper is founder of Draper University, another scam institution in the line of Trump University. Add this guy to the “should forever be heckled out of appearing in public list.”
Well, see, the trick is to make sure that at least half of them turn out to be GOP. And, of course, to find a way to further pad the House via gerrymandering districts. I don’t know California politics well enough to know whether the proposed map would do that but if it isn’t likely it’s not going to get through Congress anyway.
What was it that Benjamin Franklin said? “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Right before he signed the Declaration of Independence. It did always seem just a tad ironic to me that he said that while signing a document of succession, truth be told. (I know, I know, he was talking about uniting the colonies, not about diminishing the English Empire.)
I suspect this is a mega-gerrymander. Designed to concede 2 senators to the Dems while delivering 4 to the Repubs.
My understanding is that 2 of the 3 states would be solid Republican. He was very careful to draw the maps that way.
The nation’s most populous state has become too difficult to govern because of its size, wealth disparities and geographic diversity, Draper and the initiative’s supporters argue.
So, if he’s worried about wealth disparities and geographic diversity, tell you what, how about we increase the tax rate on families making more than $500,000 per year in income, increase state capital gains, and build the fucking bullet train already. Granted, that might not be quite the angle Mr. Draper was looking for.
When he says size, well hell, most western states bitch about the number of “Californians” moving to their states and increasing the price of property. Granted, most of these folks move in from elsewhere, find California not to their liking, and move elsewhere.
A prime example of the abuse of the initiative process.
That process must be modified to prevent these efforts to use it for radical change.
It was never intended for this sort of thing.
I’ll cheer to see this thing kicked off the ballot.
I think it is an awfully complicated measure to put on an initiative ballot and the suit might very well succeed, but I am not going to say the general idea is stupid. Right now California’s 44 million residents have two senators advancing their interests. The state of Wyoming has the same senatorial representation. That is just stupid. .
kind of ironic for a state that made a cottage industry of ballot initiatives
Senator Nunes?
No. One of the new states includes Los Angeles. A second one includes San Francisco and the Bay Area. There aren’t enough assholes around Sacramento, the northern part of inland agriculture, and the forested north to counter that.
It is my unfortunate San Diego that gets thrown in to the conservative Southern California, to provide an urban core and a strong research university so the new state can turn into Kansas slowly instead of quickly.
It’s not about the Senators, where Dems would probably net two or the next six to twelve years. What it does is put about 22 of California’s 55 electoral votes in play. It gives Republicans a better chance at governorships. Each “state” gets a major port, so there’s lots of chances for business shenanigans.
But breaking up California’s electoral votes alone makes it worthwhile for Republicans.
Well, given that the northern part and southern part of the state at least lean conservative, it is likely that cons would get four more senators out of the deal.
A bigly bad idea on that point alone.
Hey, I got a much better idea. Why not have the entire state of California become its own nation. Why are we Californians stuck in the same twisted relationship with those raciest hillbillies of Oklahoma, Mississippi, West Virginia etc.? Why in the hell are we in California forced to pay for a bloated military whose only purpose is to creat havoc throughout the world and to make rich those who feed at the trough of the Military Industral Complex? The sovereign nation of California can trade with Canada, Mexico, Asia, South America, the EU and the working parts of what remains of Trumps America. As a bonus, we can ship our garbage to those raciest “born again Evangelicals” in states like Alabama and Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky. They could use some fast cash.
Anyone else getting tired of these batshit crazy billionaires and their vanity plays? Tom Steyer is wasting time and money on a fool’s errand all so he can run for president. Tim Draper is just whining about regulation. Peter Thiel wants nothing more than a revolution that will benefit him and only him. They all have way too much in common with Trump. Stir shit up and damn the consequences.