Radical plan to split California into three states earns spot on November ballot

[octoberlib]

California’s 168-year run as a single entity, hugging the continent’s edge for hundreds of miles and sprawling east across mountains and desert, could come to an end next year — as a controversial plan to split the Golden State into three new jurisdictions qualified Tuesday for the Nov. 6 ballot.

If a majority of voters who cast ballots agree, a long and contentious process would begin for three separate states to take the place of California, with one primarily centered around Los Angeles and the other two divvying up the counties to the north and south. Completion of the radical plan — far from certain, given its many hurdles at judicial, state and federal levels — would make history.


n the initiative’s introductory passage, Draper argues that “vast parts of California are poorly served by a representative government dominated by a large number of elected representatives from a small part of our state, both geographically and economically.”

The proposal aims to invoke Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the provision guiding how an existing state can be divided into new states. Draper’s plan calls for three new entities — Northern California, California and Southern California — which would roughly divide the population of the existing state into thirds.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-split-three-states-20180612-story.html



Is this still being funded by Russia and does it have a chance of passing?

[Hoyt]

1. Sounds like a Russian/White-wing initiative. Faces a lot of impediments, thankfully.

[Initech]

9. CalExit was exposed as a Russian hit job.

Putin is definitely trying to fuck with us, and something about this definitely does not pass the smell test.

[BigmanPigman]

2. This crap again?!?

More nonsense...I choose to ignore it. I have been a resident since 1984 and I am not worried since I have been hearing the same thing since moving here. I think the last idiot that tried this two years ago had lived in CA for a short time and resided in NY and had ties to Russia at some point.

[Hekate]

3. Oh crap. No, it stands no chance of passing. Yes, if Putin was paying for it before...

...why would he stop now?

[Bok_Tukalo]

4. If California splits, it should be into 7 states

That’s a net pick up of 6 Electoral votes and 12 senators

Time for Democrats to play hardball. The small states have too much power in the Republic.

[Hekate]

16. Wrong understanding of our demographics. Just look at who's in the House from California...

In addition to outspoken Dem stalwarts Adam Schiff and Eric Swallwell, California sends Dana Rohrabacher, Darryl Issa, Devin Nunes, and other utterly obnoxious Right Wingers from Orange County, San Diego County, and the Central Valley.

In addition to cultural and ethnic diversity, we also have electoral diversity and elections for the US House especially are hard-fought.

Breaking up California would be catastrophic on many levels. Better you should work on getting rid of the Electoral College, which robs my state of true representation.

[More_Cowbell]

5. It won't happen

Even if it passed in California, which I highly doubt, the Constitution provides that states can't be created within other states without the consent of Congress.

I understand people's frustration. Fifty-five electoral votes for California and three for Wyoming: that means the WY electors represent about 187k people each, while the CA electors represent 677k each. Two senators for California and two for Wyoming means that Wyoming residents get 66 times the representation that Californians do. And those Senate numbers are a big reason why California pays more to the federal government than it gets back, while Wyoming and other low-population red states get back more money than they put in.

The last effort was a Russian move to weaken the United States. Whether this recent one is or not, I don't know. I wouldn't vote for it and there's no way it will ever be legal. Not when Congress has the incentive to keep us paying for its poorly run red states. But I'm sympathetic to people who want it to be done.

[Raine]

19. Thanks for this info about the constitution

I'm a Californian, I don't like the idea of splitting my state. Congress would never allow it ... thank goodness!

[bitterross]

6. They don't mind representation by the few for the nation

This phrase struck me as particularly ironic:

"...vast parts of California are poorly served by a representative government dominated by a large number of elected representatives from a small part of our state, both geographically and economically.”

Seems like they only love that arrangement when it comes to the South actually still managing to control the nation through the Electoral College. This is changing far too slowly.

[kysrsoze]

7. There will be 3 votes from our house against it.

No way.

[Initech]

8. So it's basically fuck Hollywood and let them sort it out. Got it.

[LiberalFighter]

10. May the drivers behind it starve and go broke.

[trackfan]

11. Californians should read the proud history of their state.

California was never a territory; after being acquired by treaty after the Mexican-American war, it was basically under military control, but thanks to the gold rush, already had a population large enough to be a state. By order of the military governor, a constitutional convention took place in 1849, including both Americans from the East, and Californians, who had been Mexican citizens, and were now, by terms of the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, American citizens. The convention was bi-lingual. There was a large segment of delegates who had come from the South with pro-slavery sympathies, but the convention was so eager to gain statehood, that they voted unanimously to ban slavery in California, with basically the same words that would find their way into the 13th amendment. Proposals to split the state into one slave and one free were voted down. They could have tried to make the eastern border go all the way to Texas, but delineated the current reasonable border. They presented the constitution to the US Congress as a fait accompli, and were eventually admitted as a state on 9-9-1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850. California's admission broke the carefully maintained deadlock of slave and free states, now making the total 16 free-15 slave, setting the stage for the next 15 years of turbulence.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Thank you for this great summary of California's history! People SHOULD read it.

[argyl]

14. I'm from Texas and I dearly love California.

Love the cities, the people, and the breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
Love hiking the Sierras. The view just off Hwy.395 of the Alabama Hills in the foreground and the Sierras rising starkly 10,000 feet from the high desert, with Mount Whitney the highest of the peaks, takes your breath away.
There's so much gorgeous to savor about your state I could never detail it all.

As far as Californian history and the Gold Rush goes there's one thing I've always thought was rather ironic:that the Spaniards with their lust for gold never found (or looked?) for gold in the time they controlled it.

It would take an Anglo who wasn't even looking for gold to start the greatest gold rush the world would ever see.

[ansible]

13. Honestly, I can see it happening in the future, CA is just getting too big

The differences between the various regions is enormous. Travelling from the Central Valley to the Bay Area feels like I'm travelling to another country entirely.

[DFW]

17. There is similar diversity within Switzerland

They have the French-speaking part, with farmland, mountains and Lake Geneva. Then they have the German-Speaking part, with both mountains and many lakes. In the south, there is the Italian-speaking part, much of which is sub-tropical, but also with partly mountainous and major lakes. And Switzerland doesn't even stretch as far as the distance from L.A. to Las Vegas. Smaller size doesn't necessarily mean homogeneity, just as the diversity of a country like France, with the same approximate area as California, doesn't mean it feels the need to split up, not to even mention India or China.

From the times I have been to California, I have always considered its diversity a strength, not a weakness.

[ecstatic]

15. wtf? NO! But maybe the US as a whole should split.

Set aside some land for the RW, trump-led idiocracy and the rest of us can rebuild.

[DFW]

18. Maybe Putin can set aside a few thousand square miles in central Russia

Build them some simple housing, pipe in Fox Noise. They're already in a place where only white people live. I should think most of them would jump at the opportunity.

[VOX]

20. So actress Polly Draper's billionaire right-wing brother is floating this turd AGAIN?

This guy has been pushing "make California condo" for decades now. IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN ATTEMPT TO BREAK UP BLUE CALIFORNIA.

Sure, I'd like more representation in DC -- but I want 2 Democrats only, NOT 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats, or some such.

Fellow Californians, vote this piece-of-crap idea into hell in November!