Obama warns of ‘unchecked power’ in pro-Prop. 50 ad featuring ICE raids
As Californians begin voting for Democrats’ efforts to expand their ranks in Congress, former President Barack Obama warned that democracy is in danger, urging voters to support Proposition 50 in a television ad that began airing Tuesday.
“California, the whole nation is counting on you,” Obama says in the 30-second ad that the main pro-Proposition 50 campaign began airing statewide on Tuesday. The ad is part of a multimillion-dollar ad buy supporting the congressional redistricting ballot measure throughout the Nov. 4 election.
Proposition 50 was spearheaded this summer by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democratic leaders after President Trump called on GOP-led states, particularly Texas, to redraw congressional districts to increase the number of Republicans elected to the House in next year’s midterm elections to continue pushing his agenda in his final years in office.
“Republicans want to rig the next election and steal enough seats in Congress to have two more years of unchecked power.” Obama says in the ad:Featuring footage of ICE raids. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks with Proposition 50. Proposition 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting for the long term, and lets the people decide. Return your ballot today.”
Congressional districts have long been drawn in smoke-filled rooms by partisans focused on preserving their party’s power and incumbents. But good government groups and elected officials, particularly former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have fought to end gerrymandering and take the drawing of congressional boundaries out of politicians’ hands to create more competitive districts.
Obama, a long-time supporter of ending gerrymandering, had already approved the ballot measure.
In California, these districts were determined by an independent commission created by voters in 2010; So Democrats in the state had to go to the polls to seek a mid-decade partisan redistricting that could improve their party’s chances in five of the state’s 52 congressional districts.
The ad, which features Obama speaking Monday on comedian Marc Maron’s latest podcast about Trump’s policies that test the nation’s values, aired on California television stations last week after mail-in ballots were sent to the state’s 23 million registered voters.
The future of the proposal is uncertain; It’s about an obscure issue that few Californians know about, and off-year elections traditionally have low voter turnout. Still, more than $150 million was contributed to the three main committees supporting and opposing the proposal, and millions more were funded to other efforts.
Obama isn’t the only famous person appearing in ads related to Proposition 50.
In September, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who advocated for an independent redistricting commission while in office and has since campaigned for similar reforms across the country, appeared in ads opposing the November election decision.
He described Proposition 50 as a proposal that favors established politicians over voters.
“This is what they want to do, take us backwards. That’s why it’s important that you vote no on Proposition 50,” the Hollywood celebrity and former governor says in the ad, which was filmed speaking to USC students last month. “The Constitution doesn’t start with ‘We, the politicians’. It starts with ‘We, the people.’ … Democracy; we have to protect it and we have to go and fight for it.”
