U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's withdrawal from the California governor's race has unleashed a speculative buzz around the state and nation, as many pundits and pollsters try to predict the impact this will have on California's future. Among other things, the next governor will play a crucial role in the redrawing of congressional districts following the 2000 census.
Some experts predict that as many as a dozen congressional seats are up for grabs.
There's something undeniably wrong with this picture, and it bears further examination. The redistricting process is the ultimate insider's game. Every 10 years, the Democrats and Republicans sit in a back room and carve up the political landscape into a hodgepodge of districts gerrymandered for partisan and incumbent protection. In 1981, the Democrats instituted Phil Burton's infamous California plan that gave them an edge throughout the 1980's. Today, using even more sophisticated computer software and polling data, it doesn't take a Phil Burton to draw the perfect gerrymander.