Editor,
On Nov. 4, California’s Democratic and independent voters face a situation which can only be described as a choice between the lesser of two evils. The lesser evil is of course the passage of Proposition 50, the redistricting measure that will result in the likely addition of five more Democratic seats to the House of Representatives.
In normal times, such a measure would be highly unpalatable to voters of conscience. Californians are justifiably proud of the fact that redistricting has been done every 10 years by a nonpartisan commission independent of the legislature. However, these are far from normal times.
The greater evil would be to allow Trump to have two more years to perpetuate his illegal, unconstitutional, immoral and, frankly, racist policies without the checks and balances that should be provided by Congress. The Republican-led House and Senate have completely capitulated to Trump’s authoritarian rule, and offer no opposition to even his most egregious violations of the Constitution. If the Republicans continue to control Congress after the 2026 elections, then it will be more of the same, or even worse. A Republican win will only embolden Trump to pursue even more authoritarian policies.
There is no guarantee that adding five Democratic congressional seats in 2026 will turn the tide, but at least it will provide a voter-approved countermeasure to the Republican gerrymandering in Texas, Missouri and other states. So, on Nov. 4, we should choose the lesser evil and check “Yes” on our ballots to pass Proposition 50.
Bob Steele
Redwood City
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(4) comments
Yes Dirk, no one would have chosen this situation. But since 2016, our political reality is “They go low, we go high, they win.”
Mick - are you quoting Michelle Obama? Duplicity is her middle name. Digging in our respective heels is not solving anything.
Here we go again, Mr. Steele attempting to irrationally rationalize Newsom’s threat to democracy known as Proposition 50. It’s amusing the amount of mental gymnastics folks will go through to explain their lapses in morality or ethics or fairness or anything going against common sense. To wit, how else to explain why Democrats support criminals and terrorists over the American people. How else to explain why Democrats support biological men competing against biological women in individual and team sports. How else to explain why Democrats didn’t support the Big Beautiful Bill and now the Big Beautiful Ballroom (Donald J. Trump Ballroom?). Is it any wonder why mental illness has become such a hot topic in the last decade? Is there a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome? Perhaps it’ll just morph into Vance Derangement Syndrome or Rubio Derangement Syndrome. Or will we have Trump 2028? Vote NO on Proposition 50.
Bob - it appears that you are a short term-impulsive thinker. The tide can turn against you in the future should we make redistricting a political football as is now the case. What is happening again is certainly not what our Founding Fathers had in mind. I blame both parties for this mess up and how we have allowed our duplicitous leadership take action that is clearly inconsistent with the intent of our Constitution. God save America!
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