If California were a country, it would be the fourth-largest economy in the world; it would exert immense global influence in the fields of agriculture, technology, education, entertainment, and individual rights. However, California is but one of our 50 states; as such, we cannot pretend that we live in a vacuum, unaffected by what other states do.
President Trump worries that the upcoming midterm elections will remove his iron grip on the well-being of all U.S. citizens, including California’s 39 million people. Earlier this year, he stated that “we [the Republican Party, not the people of the country] are entitled to five more seats” in Texas, and the Texas Legislature groveled to his demand.
If we all agree that an impartial, independent process of periodic realignment of congressional districts is best for the nation, we must negate the extreme gerrymandering process that Trump has set in motion. If we are to have any hope at all of a rational national election system, we must have a House of Representatives that has the will to counterbalance his strong-arm tactics. Only then can we have at least a chance to ensure an impartial and fair electoral process.
If you have ever cringed about what the president has done to undermine the average citizen while enriching the richest of the rich or have ever worried that he is trying to turn the U.S. into a glitzy dictatorship (e.g., his single-handed, no-national-discussion transformation of our White House into a gaudy, gilded ballroom) or have ever had even an ounce of concern about his actions to turn our military into a national police force more involved in suppressing its own citizenry than in providing true national security, then you must vote yes on Proposition 50. Give us a chance to save our country!
Dug Chisholm
Atascadero
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 9 2025.
Democrats don’t need Proposition 50 to conduct another gerrymander of California districts. They have already effectively gerrymandered their way to extreme advantage. Of the state’s 52 Congression seats, the Democrats already hold 43, to just 9 for the Republicans. This is despite the fact that Democrats enjoy a less than 2 to 1 advantage in party registration (45.7% to 25.2% of all registered voters), they already have a 82.6% to 17.3% advantage in seats. With Proposition 50, the Democrats are just getting greedy.
We all can recall chunkling at the reported voting returns in dictatorships like North Korea, when they report a 99% vote for the ruling party. We’re on our way.
I voted “no” on prop 50. The nice thing about this whole affair is that when California finally implodes in on itself, Democrats can’t blame the 9 Republicans. They own it. What happened to our high speed rail, Newsom? Where’d the money go? If I had the money, I’d immediately leave this state and move to the Smokey Mountains and never look back.