Some people love to gossip about celebrity break-ups. This could be the biggest of all time. California’s 2016 ballot will ask the question: Should California Break-Up into six different states?
“The idea … is to create six states with responsive local governments – states that are more representative and accountable to their constituents,” Six Californias spokesperson Roger Salazar told Reuters. Breitbart News’ Chriss Street has also noted that the initiative draws strength from Californians’ specific resentment of the Bay Area, which provides much of the Golden State’s political class and dominates its uneven economic growth.
The plan is staunchly opposed by Gov. Jerry Brown and other Democrats, and viewed with some degree of skepticism by Republicans as well, but it may have some wider resonance. Draper put an additional $750,000 of his own money into the initiative in February as he pushed for the initiative to collect the over 800,000 signatures. Even if the initiative passed, it would likely have to be ratified by Congress after 2016 to take effect.
Should it pass, this will give us a total of 55 states. The immediate problem for (former) Californians is the effect it will have on the loss of power and taxation that currently tends to force the everyone else in state to support the far-left policies of the leftist metropolitan mecca-centers. (“West California” would be in dire stress losing all the tax looting it counts on from the rest of the state to fund their loony entitlement programs.) What will this do to the balance of party power? It would result in 110 Senators, The number of House Representatives should not change by much, although it could result in one or two less seats depending on what the population division results would be for the six states. This would however have a huge effect on post-2016 presidential elections, as electors in the other five (former Californian) new states would be free to give their electors to someone other than who “West California” wants. The question is, hypothetically, how would they swing? Looking at various overall political maps (2012 electoral results, , 2004 electoral results, 2012 various election results, California’s Changing Electoral Geography, and
Overall US 2004 US elections purple counties ) We can try to guesstimate, and my rough take would indicate that: Jefferson State would be lean heavily RED, Northern California State would be a BLUE leaning purple, Silicon Valley State would be a heavily BLUE state, Central California and Southern California States would be solid RED, West California would of course be Solid BLUE (until such time as the coast beaks off and slides into the ocean).
This would without question cause Democrats to lose electoral votes in the presidential elections. How many would depend on the electoral split.
What do the rest of you think about breaking up California?