Free Republic

Republicans insist Gov. Gavin Newsom of California isn’t a threat to the Trump presidency. White House allies argue privately that he’s too liberal, too manicured and just too California to win a national election. And yet: They also acknowledge this week that Newsom looks more politically formidable than at any other point in his career. One Republican strategist said Newsom’s winning redistricting campaign in California transformed him into a top rival of Donald Trump,” while another conceded it had cemented him as a “Tier 1 Democrat.”

Ballot initiatives have been getting shot down like skeet lately in California, but that hasn't always been the case. This year marks the tenth anniversary of one that passed handily but needs to be revisited. In November 1996, California voters passed Proposition 209, the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI). The measure states: "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting." This simple, reasonable, language derives from the civil-rights struggles of the...