Should Bay Area congressional delegation be forced to resign over anti-democratic redistricting schemes?
Peter Coe Verbica, candidate for CA CD19, argues in an Open Letter to area Dems that Liccardo, Lofgren, Khanna, Panetta, et al., are breaking their oath of office by choosing to represent the national Dem party over California voters in the redistricting kerfuffle.
To: Bay Area Democrats
From: Peter Coe Verbica, U.S. Congressional Candidate, CD19
Re: Protecting California's Democracy
The Bay Area's congressional delegation -- Ro Khanna, Zoe Lofgren, Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, Nancy Pelosi, Lateefa Simon, and Eric Swalwell -- should all resign immediately.
Why? Because they've abandoned -- via their support of state Democrats' outrageous gerrymandering schemes -- their #1 job as our congresspeople: representation.
Consider:
They admit in media reports that they are only working for the national Democratic party, not the People of the State of California.
In the Mercury News, our so-called representatives explicitly say that "the only reason they are doing this" is to "win in the midterms and be able to block" the GOP agenda -- California voters' opinions notwithstanding. This is an astonishing abandonment the oath of office everyone in that delegation took. It is a brazen slap in the face of the First Principles of a democratic republic. It is disqualifying in the extreme.
They are launching this gerrymander over the will of the people, and with no counsel from the people. All polling in California shows the electorate wants to keep our Independent Citizens Redistricting Committee and no poll shows a majority of voters supporting the abandonment of that committee. This new Frankenstein gerrymandering scheme is more evidence of the Democrats' disconnect from California voters and a betrayal of the Voter First Act -- which a majority of Californians approved in an effort to keep the election process fairer and more ethical.
I know that many of my -- and our -- friends and colleagues in the Bay Area Democratic community are deeply disappointed that the delegation is putting national party politics above California voter will. But they are bullied into silence, even as it's abundantly clear that their party has lost its way.
It is sad to watch T.D.S. overwhelm the democratic principles of my friends across the aisle.
I implore my fellow Bay Area candidates and elected officials (especially Democrats) to insist that the Bay Area congressional delegation reverse its position, rediscover its democratic principles, and disavow the insult to representative government embodied in the shameful redistricting plan.
And if they don't, fair-minded Democrats should insist they all step down.
In the spirit of California idealism and unity,
Peter Coe Verbica
Candidate, U.S Congressional seat CD19.
Author, Hard-Won Cowboy Wisdom
Read the whole thing here.
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