The Governator's Good Sense

Last year Gov. Schwarzenegger called a special election in an attempt to pass a number of reform measures. In my opinion, they were well-intentioned, yet all four propositions were soundly defeated. Having picked a fight with California's powerful unions, the unions spent a lot of resources to defeat the measures. Aside from the massive push the unions made, one of the reasons he lost was that voters felt fatigued; I know I did. While all the issues were important, none were so urgent that they could not wait until the next general election to be voted on. There's also a feeling among California voters that politicans should be able to solve problems amongst themselves without calling on the voters so often. It is, afterall, why we send them to Sacramento and Washington D.C.
The day after the proposition results came in, the Governor said something along the lines of, "you (voters) have spoken, and I have listened." Those are unusually humble words from a politican. Having been handed a big slice of humble pie, Gov. Schwarzenegger has embarked on a new course. Rather than threats and "Terminator" talk, he's building consensus. In a word, he's become a diplomat.
Congressional redistricting, or gerrymandering as it is known, was one of the issues that was on the ballot for reform and defeated last year. In a previous post I talked about why gerrymandering should have no place in our democracy.
Today the L.A. Times has an article with the headline: Gov. Seeks Deal That Would Ease Term Limits.
Bloomberg Newswire does a good job of summarizing:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he would support a measure to extend term limits if lawmakers agree to change how the state draws
voting districts, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Schwarzenegger said a new way to determine districts would increase competition in California elections, the Times said. He supports a measure sponsored by Senator Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat, that would give political map-making authority to an 11-citizen panel selected by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and judges, to take effect after the next Census, the Times said. Voters defeated a plan that would have given the job to three retired judges appointed by the Legislature from a group chosen by the state's Judicial Council, the Times said. Schwarzenegger will try to gain support for the plan in August and have an initiative California residents can vote on in November, the Times said. Schwarzenegger said term limits haven't improved the political culture in Sacramento and letting legislators remain in office longer would be worthwhile if it persuades them to support a proposal that takes away their power to set political boundaries, where some see a conflict of interest, the Times said, citing a former governor's aide.

Here's a revolutionary thought brought to you by the Governor: Term limits would not be necessary if congressional districts were drawn in a way that did not create "safe seats" and instead fostered competition. This is what he seems to be negotiating. You may stay in office as long as the voters in your district will have you, but you'll have to please a district that you didn't create exclusively from your supporters.
Though a case can be made for them, I was never really a fan of term limits in the first place. I think ultimately they give too much influence to lobbyists who are apt to game new legislators who are not familiar with the way things work.

The Governor is listening.