After mucking up a large pension reform issue by needlessly threatening widows and orphans, and then backing off on teacher tenure issues, here goes Re-Districting: Governor hedges on redistricting agenda and Arnold's retreats threaten his agenda.
The "Year of Reform" is quickly degenerating to a whimpering conclusion as the Year of Remorse -- we're going to be sorry we voted for this guy. For all the chest pounding and bad rhetoric, we're being left with a Gray Davis agenda as the unions haven't lost a thing. Re-Districting was the last, best idea and if Arnold remains as ineffective and spineless as he's proven with his other grand issues, nothing's going to change and his special interests foes will be staying in charge.
Ted Costa, father of the Davis Recall, and the guy who REALLY put the Re-Districting initiative together ought to be spitting nickels about Arnold's weakness in supporting this vital initiative for next year's election. Without it, we're hosed.
UPDATE -- And the Register agrees this morning: No more delays.
ANOTHER UPDATE, from Monday's WSJ.com Opinion Journal (John Fund, "Sacramento Showdown" at http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110006635):
Ted Costa, the taxpayer advocate who made the 2003 recall that brought Mr. Schwarzenegger to office possible, says he will refuse to pull the plug on real redistricting reform. His supporters fret that if the governor strikes a deal with Democratic lawmakers, his campaign committee won't turn in the 300,000 signatures it has collected to put immediate redistricting reform on the ballot. If that happens, Mr. Costa plans to send vans over to their offices and invite the media to observe how the people's will is being thwarted.
Another UPDATE -- Costa says he's 100k signatures over the threshold in: Schwarzenegger allies set for redistricting vote.