Obama warned of support for Democrats’ “unchecked power.” 50 ads featuring ICE raids
Former President Barack Obama urged voters to support Proposition 50 in a television ad that begins airing Tuesday, warning that democracy is in danger as Californians begin casting their votes against Democrats’ efforts to improve their congressional standings.
“California, the country is counting on you,” Obama says in the 30-second ad. Key campaigns supporting Proposition 50 began airing the ad across the state on Tuesday. The ad is part of a multimillion-dollar ad buy to promote congressional redistricting ballot measures during the Nov. 4 election.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democratic leaders spearheaded Proposition 50 this summer after President Trump urged Republican-led states, particularly Texas, to redraw congressional districts to increase the number of Republicans elected to the House in next year’s midterm elections in order to continue his agenda in the final years of his term.
“Republicans hope to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and continue to exercise unfettered power for two years,” Obama says in the ad, which also includes footage of ICE raids. “With Proposition 50, you can stop Republicans. Proposition 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting for the long term, and lets the people decide. Turn in your vote today.”
Congressional districts have long been lured into smoke-filled chambers by guerrillas focused on protecting their party’s power and incumbents. But good-government groups and elected officials, notably former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have been working to take the drawing of congressional boundaries out of the hands of politicians to end gerrymandering and create more competitive districts.
Obama, a long-time proponent of ending gerrymandering, has backed the ballot measure.
In California, these districts are chosen by independent commissions created by voters in 2010, which is why state Democrats must head to the ballot box to seek mid-decade partisan redistricting to improve the party’s chances in five of the state’s 52 congressional districts.
On Monday, Obama spoke on comedian Marc Maron’s final podcast about Trump’s policies testing the nation’s values, and the ad appeared on California television last week after mail-in ballots were sent to the state’s 23 million registered voters.
The proposal’s prospects are uncertain — it’s a little-known topic that few Californians know about, and off-year elections typically have lower voter turnout. Still, the three main committees supporting and opposing the proposal have received more than $150 million in donations, in addition to millions of dollars funding other efforts.
Obama isn’t the only celebrity to appear in ads about Proposition 50.
In September, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in an ad opposing the November ballot measure. Schwarzenegger supported the creation of an independent redistricting commission while in office and has been pushing for similar reforms across the country since then.
He characterized Proposition 50 as benefiting entrenched politicians rather than voters.
“That’s what they want to do, is take us backwards. That’s why it’s important to vote no on Proposition 50,” the Hollywood celebrity and former governor says in the ad, which was filmed last month while he was speaking to USC students. “The Constitution doesn’t start with ‘We, the politicians.’ It starts with ‘We, the people.’ … Democracy — we have to protect it, we have to fight for it.”
