CA: New commercial uses McCain to support redistricting initiative (Prop 77)

ap on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 10/31/05 | Steve Lawrence - ap

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Supporters of the redistricting initiative on next week's special election ballot have enlisted Arizona Sen. John McCain in their campaign to take away the Legislature's power to draw legislative and congressional boundaries.

McCain, the co-author of federal legislation in 2002 that banned unlimited "soft money" donations to political parties, appears in television commercials scheduled to begin running Tuesday urging voters to approve Proposition 77. It is one of eight measures on the Nov. 8 special election ballot and one of four promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Proposition 77 would give the duty of drawing new districts to a panel of retired judges who would be required to draw new lines for use in the June 2006 primary election. Voters would decide the following November whether to keep the new districts or order a different panel of judges to devise new ones.

Schwarzenegger and other supporters say the ballot measure would end the conflict-of-interest created by having legislators draw their own districts. Most Democratic officials say it's an attempt to elect more Republicans to the Legislature and Congress, although some GOP congressmen fear it could cost them seats next year.

The commercial:

- Title: "Straight Talk."

- Length: 30 seconds.

- Airing: Beginning Tuesday statewide

- Dominant images: McCain, his face partially hidden by shadows, speaking to camera.

- Script:

McCain: Here's some straight talk about political reform. Politicians on both sides rig districts so they can never lose. Prop. 77 changes that, so retired judges draw fair lines that you, the people, then approve.

Announcer: Legislators draw their own districts so they can't lose. Proposition 77 has a bipartisan panel of independent judges draw district lines, not the politicians. And the people vote on the final plan.

McCain: Vote yes on 77.

---

Analysis: A former Republican presidential candidate, McCain has a good-guy image that could help boost support for Proposition 77. The initiative has been lagging in the polls, particularly among Democrats and independents.

McCain has rehabilitated his image since the savings and loan scandal of the early 1990s. In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee said McCain showed "poor judgment" by taking campaign money and vacation trips from financier Charles Keating and then meeting with federal regulators investigating Keating's Lincoln Savings & Loan, which went under and cost the government $3.4 billion.

He's best known as the co-author of 2002 legislation that banned unlimited "soft money" campaign donations to political parties and as George Bush's more moderate opponent for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

More recently, McCain has tangled with the Bush administration over his efforts to bar the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in U.S. government custody.

His clashes with Bush could make him a credible advocate for Proposition 77 and blunt Democratic criticism that the measure is a GOP power grab similar to the mid-decade redistricting engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay in Texas.

[FairOpinion]

I think Arnold is focused on "just win baby", and we'll do whatever it takes, and I can't blame him, since the propositions he is pushing are very much needed in CA.

Most people in CA think well of McCain, unlike most of us on FR.

Arnold needs the support from Dems and Independents to get his initiatives passed. He is hoping the conservatives and Republicans are smart enough to vote for them so now he is working on getting enough from others to actually have the propositions pass.

[Andrew_Kalionzes]

I agree. Its going to be an interesting election here in 7 days... but i think these propositions will pass. I hate to base my post on polls..... but they overwhelmingly support Arnolds propositions.

[FairOpinion]

Here is a recent poll, I hope they are wrong about 76.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1513022/posts


The latest poll results show Proposition 74 (teacher tenure) slightly ahead, 53-47, but with a margin that is within the sampling error of the poll. The two most controversial propositions appear to be heading in opposite directions. Proposition 75 (public employee union dues) has a comfortable lead, 64-36, but Proposition 76 (state budget process) trails by double digits, 45-55. Finally, Proposition 77 (redistricting), supported by most of the state's newspapers and an array of good government groups, leads 55-45. These results appear to be relatively insensitive to variations in voter turnout, but in all four cases, the lower the turnout the higher the support for the proposition.

Compared to the early October poll, this more recent wave of the S/H/KN poll shows higher levels of support for three of the four propositions supported by the governor. Support for Proposition 75 (public employee union dues) has declined, but the proposition still has a solid lead.

Four other propositions appear on the November 8 ballot. Proposition 73 (parental consent) has a significant lead, 58-42. Two propositions address prescription drugs and both show virtually equal levels of support and opposition. Proposition 78, supported by the pharmaceutical companies, stands at 51-49, while Proposition 79, supported by consumer groups, stands at 50-50. Proposition 80, regulating electric service providers, trails 46-54.

[FairOpinion]

And McClintock is doing an ad for Prop. 76.

Ad watch: McClintock in radio spot supporting Prop. 76

Announcer: Unless you want higher taxes next year...Pay close attention to this message.

Tom McClintock: This is Sen. Tom McClintock for Prop. 76. 76 is the Live Within Your Means Act - to control state spending, balance the budget without new taxes and stop borrowing from our kids. California now spends more than $12,000 per family - more than any other time in our history. And what do we have to show for it? Not better roads or better schools that's for sure. But the big government unions have a lot to show for it...the prison guards union just got a 37 percent pay hike...public pension costs have ballooned 1,600 percent in just five years. Folks, our budget's completely out of control. The government unions that want to force us to pay higher taxes are fighting 76 with everything they've got...If they win, we all lose. They want to raise taxes. The governor wants to control spending. And it's all up to you. This is Tom McClintock asking you please to vote yes on Prop. 76.

[NormsRevenge]

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger claps for his wife Maria Shriver after speaking at the Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women and Families titled 'Women as Architects of Change: Lessons on Leadership, Activism and Family' Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

First Lady Appears to Be Sitting Out This Election Los Angeles Times - Mon Oct 31, 7:55 AM ET

[NormsRevenge]

First Lady of California Maria Shriver (R) and tennis star Billie Jean King are interviewed at at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women and Families held at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California October 27, 2005. REUTERS/Phil McCarten

[calcowgirl]

LOL. When McCain is supposed to represent good ethical conduct, you know we're in trouble.

[SQUID]

Agreed, McCain can quit tomorrow and take up the priesthood and he would still be an idiot.

[hispanichoosier]

Finally, Proposition 77 (redistricting), supported by most of the state's newspapers and an array of good government groups, leads 55-45.

Personally, I think that redistricting should always be in the hands of the legislature, the elected political body of a state. On the other hand, California has had the proposition system in place for a long time. If Cali voters decide to take the power of redistricting out of the hands of their legislators, they have every right to do so under the proposition system.

[FairOpinion]

"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger claps for his wife Maria Shriver after speaking at the Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women and Families "


===

That't the one, to which Arnold invited Laura Schlessinger to speak and it upset the homosexuals tremendously.

http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=4222


As if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn’t done enough to offend the LGBT community, he and First Lady Maria Shriver have announced that they will feature anti-gay extremist Dr. Laura Schlessinger at the 19th Annual Conference on Women and Families scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27 in Long Beach. This annual conference honors women and families for their leadership and activism.

“It is unconscionable that the First Lady of the State of California is giving a platform to a woman who has made a career for herself condemning families headed by LGBT individuals, opposing hate-crime legislation, and promoting hate,” said Executive Director Kate Kendell of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “At a time when the first lady should be demonstrating leadership in supporting equality for all families, it is disheartening that she instead is selling out her values for her husband’s anti-equality agenda. It is also disheartening that there is no representation of same-sex families at this conference. It is truly sad to watch as she allows her husband’s right-wing advisers to diminish her stature and degrade what was an important non-partisan, non-political event.”