OUR VIEW: Republicans must shore up support, not try for redo
The California Republican Party is doing a good job demonstrating just how hard it is to accept badly needed political reform. The GOP has pitched a fit over the new state Senate boundaries drawn up by a voter-created bipartisan committee -- a process that replaced the old system, which had politicians drawing the lines themselves behind closed doors. Twice Republicans have sued to toss out the new Senate maps and twice they have lost. In the most recent ruling late last month, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled the committee's maps were the most appropriate. The seven-judge panel consists of six judges appointed by Republican governors. This one can't be blamed on politics.
Among the GOP's lousy arguments was the claim that new boundaries are unconstitutional because they dilute Latino voting clout in some areas of the state. Since when is the state's Republican Party leadership concerned about the voting strength of the Latino community, which leans strongly Democratic?
Perhaps the GOP's time and money would be better spent courting Latinos, the fastest growing segment of the state's population. And new voter registration numbers show the GOP could use the boost -- just 30.4 percent of the state's registered voters are Republican, down 3 points from four years ago.
The GOP is plowing ahead with yet another challenge to the senate maps: a referendum on the ballot to toss them out. Too bad: The party ought to move on from that strategy and focus on garnering bona fide support.
