With the results of Prop 50 now officially in the books, the landslide victory of the proposition has shown us something dark and sinister about California's political climate right now.
There is a large amount of voters in California who believe certain citizens should not have a voice in government.
I'm sure it's not shocking to many people who pay attention to politics how voters have devolved into complete tribalism. Families have been torn apart by politics. How many family holidays have been ruined by politics because citizens have lost the art of engaging in civil discourse? How many friendships ended because one pulled the lever for the blue team and the other pulled the lever for the red team?
What is a surprise though is the rhetoric of those who voted "Yes" on Prop 50 here in California.
Exit polls showed that the majority of "Yes" voters in California voted in support of Prop 50 for one reason, "to get back at Trump." It was a symbol of resistance for those who hate Trump and his administration. The "Yes" ads were filled with arguments about "saving democracy" and "doing it for the nation" to put our elections back on a level playing field. These arguments, as dubious as they were, led many voters filled with rage for the red team to march to the polls and cast their ballot in support of Prop 50. Election day came, and the results were a landslide in favor of Prop 50.
What they neglected to understand or factor into their vote was the repercussions of what is happening and what this could mean for the rest of the nation.
Immediately after the victory, Gavin Newsom strode to a podium for his victory lap and declared that other blue states should follow suit in voting for similar measures that would redistrict their states to squeeze more Democratic Representatives out of their respective districts. Which is contradictory to the point that Newsom made leading up the election, which is that the only reason California was even proposing Prop 50 was to "balance out" what Texas was doing. Mind you Texas was only doing what they are doing because of a lawsuit filed by the Biden DOJ, but regardless, this was Newsom's rationale.
Now you have the governor of a state calling on governors of other states to enact wild gerrymandering schemes to get more Democrats into the House of Representatives. So much "countering" what Texas was doing. This is a new form of power grab not seen in our nation's history. Which begs the question, if states can just redistrict when they feel like in order to gain more power, do citizens really have a vote anymore?
This sentiment along with the sentiment of "Yes" voters on social media exposes the dark trajectory of politics, especially here in California. The "Yes" voters do not view "No" voters as their equals. They believe in a state run by a super majority of Democrats, that anyone right of Joe Manchin politically, should not have a voice in government.
"Yes" voters overlooked this out of pure outrage and anger against Donald Trump, but did not stop for a second to ask, "Why should thousands of people in California lose their representation in Congress?" They were blinded by their own tribalism and a blood lust to get back at the other side.
Did they do this intentionally? Probably not, but the fact that they failed to ask this question is terrifying in itself. They didn't stop to ask themselves this question because they simply don't care about your rights. They care about gaining power and destroying political opponents. I would venture to guess that if there was a proposition proposed in California that would ban all Trump voters from ever voting in a California election again, a majority of "Yes" voters would support it wholeheartedly.
This brings us to the old allegory which states that "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what is for dinner." In a state such as California where Democrats outnumber Republicans (and Independents) by a 2-1 margin, there could be no better example. Democrats in California know they have the political power to do whatever they want and no one will stop them. In a pure democracy, the majority will inevitably trample on the rights of the minority.
When Prop 50 was premised on the notion of "owning the other side," it's not hard to see why it passed by such a large margin. Democrats and general Trump haters showed up in large numbers to voluntarily strip citizens of their voice in Congress. They didn't care of the implication or the danger to our form of representative republic; it was simply a means to an end in their quest for total power. If presented with another opportunity to put down and silence "political enemies," I have no doubt that these same "Yes" voters would not hesitate to pull the lever in favor of it.
Our country used to be premised on the notion that our political differences were determined at the ballot box. If you were not a fan of a certain politician or administration, you can make your voice heard by voting out the disfavored politicians. California could have done this. They could have waited until next year to make their case to voters why they need to elect more Democrats. Historically, it's not a tall task when the incumbent party traditionally loses power in Congress in the midterms. California however wanted to make sure they really set the odds in the house's favor with Prop 50.
We have only just begun to see the ramifications of Prop 50. I fear that once those in power know they can get away with this style of power grab, they will only continue to push further as time goes on.
I hope our republic can handle it.