The recently released deluge of “Yes on 50” ads on TV feature a look-alike actor and cartoon caricature of Trump claiming he hates California. All the while Gavin Hairgel urges Californians to vote against Trump’s assault on democracy. Really? Holding onto a popularly elected and less-partisan means of drawing congressional districts is anti-democratic? Rather, instead, it’s anti-Democrat.

Under the heading of “Timing is Everything,” the above-mentioned ad blitz hit the air waves just as Trump was bringing elusive peace to a seriously troubled Middle East. To say that our president has thus experienced an historically exceptional surge in popularity would be an understatement.

When Newsom first pulled Prop. 50 out of his yin-yang as a countermeasure to a similar effort in Texas, I thought of wringing blood out of a turnip. California has long been gerrymandered to the max. Squeezing any more Democrat seats out of it, even if made legal, would be more than just difficult -- especially, due to out-migration, the state lost a seat after the last census for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Texas is gaining population -- and is thus poised to add to its footprint in Congress.

On the dark side, the impending election will be mostly done by mail. It used to be that voting in California in person simply required nothing more than just a walk around the block. Since COVID, however, in-person voting sites have been few and far between. Voting by mail is orders of magnitude easier than in person -- though chain-of-custody issues continue to persist.

As an unintended consequence, Newsom’s image may well wind up being severely tarnished, even though this Prop 50 stunt was concocted to do exactly the opposite. Despite a shrinking tax base, his anti-Trump ploy is sucking out $282 million from an already tortured budget. For what? Trump is already a lame duck… politically that is. What is actually being revealed is that Newsom and the rest of his pack have nothing else left on which to rally their troops than hatred for Trump. They’re going to need more than just good luck for that to work.

Image: AT via Magic Studio