Free Republic

Tony Quinn is co-editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan analysis of state legislative and congressional elections. Lost in the aftermath of September 11 was the enactment of new district lines for California’s 120 legislative districts and 53 House seats. The once-a-decade redistricting had been expected to generate political heat and partisan fireworks, but this year’s exercise passed with almost no one noticing. That’s because both political parties early on agreed that this year the reapportionment process would be a status quo redistricting in which each party kept the existing number of seats. It was, in effect, a bipartisan...

BURBANK, Calif. - With his popularity at an all-time low, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turned Monday to another political star - Sen. John McCain - to help sell his November ballot proposals to a skeptical public. In a brief, joint appearance with the governor in a hotel conference room, the Arizona senator urged California voters to support the four initiatives backed by Schwarzenegger on the special election ballot. They said little about the specifics of the proposals and instead depicted them broadly as an important step in efforts to make government more accountable. "I have campaigned for reform efforts all over...

David Horowitz has joined the fight against CA Proposition 77, the redistricting initiative, and calls on Republicans to vote NO on Prop 77. This op-ed piece explains the dangers Prop 77 poses to Republicans in CA and how its passage could start a trend that hands the House to the Dems.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has asked the attorney general's office to examine the wording of a ballot initiative that would redraw legislative districts, a cornerstone of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election. At issue are discrepancies between the wording of the measure that was circulated for signatures earlier this year, and the wording submitted to the attorney general's office for title and summary. Under state law, the attorney general must draft an impartial title and summary. The title is designed to explain the result of a "yes" vote if the measure is passed and the result of a "no" vote...

SEATTLE -- A man carrying an unusable hand grenade and a sheaf of papers including a "living will" was fatally shot by police Monday in the lobby of the downtown federal courthouse, authorities said. The Seattle man, born in 1952, had often expressed "a disdain for the federal government as well as some of its policies," U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson said, and often frequented the courthouse as well as the federal office building. Police could not tell that the grenade was inert as the man held it in his hand, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said. Several news organizations identified the...

Census Bureau projections show state population growth outpaced by Florida.New York faces the prospect of losing two seats in the House of Representatives after the 2010 census, according to projections to be released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. New York's population is projected to grow during the next five years, but at a rate far slower than states in the South and West, the Census Bureau reports. Florida is expected to pass New York as the third most populous state, behind California and Texas. "We're still a big state, but it does hurt us, no doubt," said Robert Spitzer,...

New York faces the prospect of losing two seats in the House of Representatives after the 2010 census, according to projections to be released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. New York's population is projected to grow during the next five years, but at a rate far slower than states in the South and West, the Census Bureau reports. Florida is expected to pass New York as the third most populous state, behind California and Texas. "We're still a big state, but it does hurt us, no doubt," said Robert Spitzer, professor of political science at the State University College...

It was the year everyone wanted to be in the Bay State, with a crush of delegates flooding Boston for the Democratic National Convention and the curse-toppling Red Sox drawing fans from around the country. ADVERTISEMENT But Massachusetts, when it comes to population, is still a loser. In 2004, the state gained the ignominious title of the only state to lose residents, US Census data show. Despite continued growth in immigration to the Bay State, Massachusetts lost 3,852 people in the last year, a slight drop that economists attribute to a stagnant job market and view as a dangerous signal....

GOP-leaning states in line for more Congress seats Arizona, Florida, Texas and Utah would each gain one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives if districts were reapportioned today, according to an analysis by American City Business Journals. Iowa, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, on the other hand, would each lose a seat. The U.S. Census Bureau released new state-by-state population estimates for 2004 Wednesday. ACBJ used those figures to hypothetically reapportion House seats today, six years in advance of the next scheduled reapportionment in 2010. (Click here for a downloadable Microsoft Excel spreadsheet showing population and Congressional seat projections.)...