Oh Ohio

The state of Ohio has been making a comeback in terms of California political news. First, there is the battle between Prop 78 and Prop 79. The folks behind 78 (pharmaceutical companies) are claiming that the drug discount program in Ohio (which 78 is modeled after) provides deeper discounts than the program in Maine (which 79 is modeled after). There have been a spat of e-mails, press releases and vitriol on the subject. Now this week, President Bush is coming to town, hat in hand, raising money. But some close to Arnold Schwarzenegger are saying that he is not being loyal to a governor who stuck his neck out to campaign for the president in Ohio, almost a year ago. From George Skelton's column: "A little respect and courtesy for what Schwarzenegger is doing out here would be appreciated,' says a gubernatorial aide. Or, to put it another way: a little appreciation for what Schwarzenegger did for the president in Ohio, which included alienating California Democrats and turning himself into a full-fledged partisan." And then there is redistricting. In Ohio, the out of power party--which is Democrats, not Republicans--are pushing for redistricting reform. Issue 4 (Ohio's reform) and Prop 77 (California's) have been crossendorsed--trying to lend a nonpartisan feel across both states. In a statement yesterday Gov. Schwarzenegger said: “One of the most important ways Americans can reform our election system is to work in a bipartisan fashion to change how we draw electoral districts. That is why I am campaigning so strongly for Proposition 77, a measure to let a bipartisan panel of independent retired judges draw election districts in California. I support similar efforts around the country designed to take the power to draw districts away from the politicians and give it back to the people. “State Issue 4 on the ballot this year in Ohio would change the way Ohio draws election districts. State Issue 4 is far from perfect and has several shortcomings, but the perfect cannot be the enemy of the good and State Issue 4 remains a step forward toward more competitive election districts. For that reason, State Issue 4 has my endorsement.” We knew Ohio was a battleground state in 2004, but who would have predicted it would be a battleground in the California special election?