The Sacramento Bee‘s editorial opposing Proposition 93: Early last year, legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left us with a smidgen of hope they would agree on a carrot-and-stick deal to bring real political reform to the Capitol. The carrot would be a loosening of term limits, allowing smart, accomplished legislators to spend more time… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Rose Institute
Dr. Pitney on California Primary
From KCBS: â€This is a state that should be favorable to Barack Obama in many ways,†said Jack Pitney, professor of government studies at Claremont McKenna College. “California has a number of liberal up-scale voters.†Hillary Clinton talked to union members in the Los Angeles area, unveiling a $70 billion proposal to stimulate the economy.… Continue Reading
Dr. Pitney on California Primary & McCain
From Harrison Sheppard and Tony Castro’s article in the Los Angeles Daily News on how the “primary in California may be pivotal”: “I’m sure the McCain campaign would like lots of absentee ballots to come in next week and allow them to capitalize on the New Hampshire afterglow,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of government… Continue Reading
Redistricting Round-up
From Debra J. Saunders column in the San Francisco Chronicle: After the needed signatures appeared, all talk of promised redistricting reform disappeared. Núñez and Perata had talked about reforming how seats are apportioned to make them more competitive. But once they got what they wanted – a February primary, a forgiving signature count and a… Continue Reading
Speaking of Duncan Hunter and Redistricting
Long, long, long shot presidential candidate Congressman Duncan Hunter interviewed by David Shankbone of Mens News Daily on redistricting: DS You were originally elected as part of the Reagan Revolution and you came from a historically competitive district—DH: Actually a non-competitive district; it was 2 to 1 Democrat. It was so noncompetitive that my opponent… Continue Reading
Ed Rollins, Jesse Unruh, Redistricting, etc.
Lloyd Grove interviews Ed Rollins, now campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, at Portfolio.com: L.G.: And you were working for Big Daddy [Jesse Unruh, the speaker of the California assembly and then state treasurer, who famously said, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics”]. E.R.: I worked for Big Daddy, who was sort of the master.… Continue Reading
Linkage and Mentions
Jack Santucci at The Democratic Piece says: As the 2010 US census nears, redistricting and reapportionment enter the news. CMC’s Rose Institute has pulled together a handful of snippets concerned with redistricting reform. For others, the apportionment question is equally interesting. How will 435 House seats be reshuffled among states whose relative populations have changed?… Continue Reading
Dr. Pitney on McCain, Paul
From Bennett Roth’s article in the Houston Chronicle: Jack Pitney, an analyst at Claremont McKenna College in California, said Paul “can make a big splash in New Hampshire because it is a small state where money can go a long way.” But in California, he said, Paul will have a hard time attracting establishment Republicans… Continue Reading
Dr. Pitney on the Governor & the Budget
From Michael Rothfeld’s Los Angeles Times article: Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, said it was natural for the governor to want the healthcare expansion for his legacy. But, he added, “the deficit will overshadow everything else.” “It’s tempting for him to think about big goals, but he has to think about… Continue Reading
End-O-Year Redistricting Mentions
Whether looking forward or looking backward, redistricting came up a few times around the first of the year. Press-Enterprise Enterprise editorial: —Redistricting reform. Letting the Legislature draw political districts serves politicians, not voters. Legislators focus on self-protection and partisan gain, at the expense of representative democracy. Taking reapportionment out of the politicians’ hands and giving… Continue Reading