I thought you dems want changes to the electoral college.
Democrats vow to fight electoral college change
By Steven Harmon
MEDIANEWS SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Article Launched: 09/06/2007 03:03:48 AM PDT
SACRAMENTO -- Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean accused Republicans of trying to rig the 2008 presidential contest and vowed Wednesday to do "whatever it takes within legal boundaries" to stop a California ballot measure that would change how the state casts its 55 electoral college votes.
Dean, who called the initiative a "Tom DeLay/Karl Rove-type maneuver," joined Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., in a conference call to denounce the measure, whose title and summary were released Wednesday by the Attorney General's office.
Proponents, who will begin circulating petitions next week, have 150 days to gather 434,000 signatures to put it on the June 2008 ballot.
"If this gets on the ballot, the election in June would determine who's the next president of the United States," said Dean, who would not divulge details of his strategy to defeat the proposal. "So, we'll treat the election accordingly."
His comments signaled the gravity with which Democrats view the measure, which likely will spur a fierce campaign that could cost many millions of dollars.
"Democrats should worry," said Larry Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State. "They've got everything going their way. Absent a disaster, they believe they have a very good chance to win the presidency -- and this could easily tilt the outcome against them."
Currently, California, like all but two small states, operates under a winner-take-all system and has, in each of the past
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four presidential elections, awarded its treasure trove of electoral votes to Democratic presidential nominees.
Maine and Nebraska use congressional-district allocation, but they have never split their electoral votes.
Under the measure, two electoral college votes would be given to the winner of the state and the rest would be apportioned based on congressional district.
That could mean as many as 22 electoral college votes going to the Republican nominee -- the number of congressional districts that went for President Bush in 2004. Republicans currently represent 19 districts.
"Because of this initiative, California is the main backdrop for an old-fashioned backdoor power grab to keep the presidency in Republican hands," Boxer said. "California voters are too smart for this Swift Boat-type of initiative, and we'll fight this every inch of the way."
Boxer was referring to a link between Tom Hiltachk, a GOP attorney who's behind the initiative, and Bob Perry, a Texas home builder who financed the notorious "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" attacks on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004.
Hiltachk's law firm, which represents the state GOP, was paid $65,000 last year by a California-based political committee that was almost entirely funded by Perry.
Hiltachk also worked on the campaign of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the Gray Davis recall before serving as Schwarzenegger's legal counsel.
Schwarzenegger has indicated that he does not support the measure, saying Wednesday in a radio interview, "To me, what we have in place right now works ... I feel like if you all the sudden in the middle of the game start changing the rules, it's kind of odd. It almost feels like a loser's mentality, saying 'I cannot win with those rules, so let me change the rules.'
"I have not made up my mind yet in one way or the other because I haven't seen the details on it, but basically I would say there is something off with this whole idea."
Kevin Eckery, the spokesman for the initiative, called Democrats' attacks a "red herring."
"If you can argue the merits, you do, but if you can't, you do a guilt-by-association thing," Eckery said. "If you don't have anything to respond with, you throw out character assassination. This is them protecting their turf. They view California voters as their turf. I view them as individual voters."
Reach Steven Harmon at 916-441-2101 or sharmon@bayareanewsgroup.com. |
