For years, Americans have been treated to a never-ending sermon from the Left about the constant “threats to our democracy.” Every policy debate, every election, every Supreme Court nomination—it’s all framed as an existential crisis that could bring the Republic to its knees. We’re told our institutions are hanging by a thread, and only they, with a wisdom only they possess, of course, can save us.

But what happens when the tables are turned? What happens when these self-appointed guardians of democracy spot a golden opportunity to rig the entire system? When faced with a choice between the lofty principles they preach and the raw political power they crave, their true colors come shining through. It turns out their frantic warnings were never about protecting democracy; they were about controlling it.

From ‘BizPacReview’:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, have taken opposite sides of a top issue going into the 2025 elections…

“They want to get rid of it under the auspices of, ‘We have to fight Trump.’ Doesn’t make any sense to me. Two bad behaviors don’t make a right behavior. Two wrongs don’t make a right. They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California.”

That blast of pure common sense comes from a very unlikely source in a battle brewing in the belly of the beast. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom is ramming through a brazen scheme to demolish a fair, voter-approved system for drawing electoral maps. His plan, Ballot Proposition 50, would snatch that power from an independent commission and shove it back into the hands of partisan politicians. The goal is simple and sinister: to gerrymander the state into a permanent Democrat stronghold.

If it passes, this scheme could conjure up five new Democrat-leaning congressional districts out of thin air, a major blow to the Republican hold on the House. And Newsom, to his credit, isn’t even bothering to hide his intentions. You almost have to admire the sheer audacity.

Newsom’s Desperate Power Grab

Instead of pretending Prop 50 is about good government, Newsom is selling it with the only trick the Left has left: screaming about President Donald Trump. In a recent fundraising email, he laid it all out. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years,” he begged. “Heaven help us if we lose.”

In a classic case of projection, he even tweeted that Trump and Texas Republicans were “flushing democracy down the toilet,” while working overtime to do precisely that in his own state. Newsom is admitting, out loud, that he wants to corrupt California’s elections to grab federal power, using the very man he accuses of tyranny as his excuse.

There’s just one snag in his plan. A powerful and completely unexpected opponent has stepped up to defend the will of the people, and it’s someone who proves this fight is about principle, not party.

An Unlikely Defender of Fair Elections

Standing in Newsom’s way is former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let’s be clear: Schwarzenegger is no MAGA hat-wearer. He’s a famous critic of President Trump. But he knows a political racket when he sees one, and he’s fighting back—not for a party, but for a principle. That’s a concept that seems to be a foreign language in Sacramento these days.

Schwarzenegger isn’t just some celebrity pundit, either. He is the architect of the very system Newsom wants to obliterate. Back when he was governor, he championed the constitutional amendments that created the independent redistricting commission, specifically to take this power away from crooked politicians.

“If you vote yes on that, we go backwards,” Schwarzenegger declared. He sees Prop 50 for exactly what it is: an elitist power grab. “I don’t think that they use it for any other purpose other than weakening democracy in California,” he said bluntly.

This debacle in California is the modern Left’s playbook in a nutshell. The rules only matter when they’re winning. The second a fair system produces an outcome they don’t like, they burn it to the ground. Their endless shrieking about “saving democracy” is just a cover for their own bottomless appetite for control. This time, the alarm bells are real—and the threat is coming from the very people who have been crying wolf for years.

Key Takeaways

• Gov. Newsom is pushing Prop 50 to gerrymander California for partisan gain.
• He uses “fighting Trump” as a cynical excuse for an anti-democratic power grab.
• Even famous Trump-critic Arnold Schwarzenegger calls the plan a corrupt scam.
• The scheme exposes the Left’s blatant hypocrisy on fair and honest elections.

Sources: BizPac Review