VOTESCAM GOES SPLAT: Glad tidings from points west. It appears that the quasi-official Republican attempt to siphon off twenty or so of California's electoral votes has suddenly dried up.... The now-comatose power play was a ballot initiative that would have allocated California?s electoral vote by Congressional district.... The result would have been to hand the G.O.P. nominee an unearned Ohio-size package of electoral votes, along with, quite possibly, the presidency. The Snidely Whiplash of the scheme was a well-connected Sacramento lawyer named Thomas Hiltachk....
Here’s a simpler, though admittedly speculative, explanation for the measure’s demise: the Governator terminated it.... Schwarzenegger... "To me, what we have in place right now works. I feel like if you all of a sudden in the middle of the game start changing the rules it’s kind of odd, it almost feels like a loser’s mentality, saying I cannot win with those rules, so let me change the rules. I have not made up my mind yet in one way or the other, because I haven’t seen the details on it, but basically I would say there is something off with this whole idea."
One question remains: Why would Schwarzenegger want to shoot down a proposal that has the potential of delivering the White House to his party next year? My guess is that he isn’t losing any sleep over the probability of a G.O.P. Presidential rout, which would make him the indisputably most important Republican in America.... Anybody remember the first Republican debate, on MSNBC back in May? I’ll bet Arnold does. He was in the front row at the Reagan Library when Chris Matthews asked the ten candidates if they would support changing the Constitution ever so slightly to make naturalized citizens eligible for the presidency. The vote onstage was eight to one against... in favor of crushing the ultimate and perfectly legitimate dream of the distinguished Governor of California.
If I were Schwarzenegger, I wouldn’t lift a finger to help these bozos.
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