Authoritarian Tactics Won't Work. Enhance Democracy Instead
(This column is co-published with Zócalo Public Square. Image created with assistance of Google Gemini).
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. The Gospel of Matthew 5:38-39
If California’s ruling Democrats were wise, they’d use this moment to introduce reforms that would enhance democracy—and might even increase Republican representation in California’s state legislature and Congressional delegation.
But they’re not that smart. Instead, Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading his state and the national Democratic party into a contest of anti-democratic tactics with MAGA Republicans. For starters, the competition focuses on which side can best exploit legislative power and the redistricting process to lock up as many Congressional seats as possible in the 2026 elections.
That’s a contest that Californians simply can’t win. We’re never going to out-autocrat or out-authoritarian a self-styled dictator like Donald Trump. And why would we ever want to?
Newsom answers that question with what he and other Democratic governors claim is hard-headed realism. Trump is trying to gerrymander Texas and GOP-friendly states to steal additional seats in the 2026 mid-term elections and retain MAGA control of the U.S. House of Representatives. So, Newsom is among the leaders preparing their blue states to also use gerrymandering, to steal additional seats of their own.
I’m all for fighting Donald Trump, but this strategy is a loser, for several reasons.
The first is practical: It won’t work. Republicans control many more state legislatures (28) than Democrats (18), and thus have more opportunities to gerrymander more seats in their favor. Escalating the gerrymandering fight is likely to add to Democratic losses.
Second, it’s legally and constitutionally risky. California’s independent citizens redistricting commission, which draws lines based on keeping communities together (rather than politics), was approved by voters and is popular. Newsom, by gerrymandering, would replace that commission’s maps. But he’s likely to be stymied. Courts could block such a move as violating the state constitution, or even impose their own maps that hurt Democrats. (That’s how a 2022 New York state gerrymander to boost Democrats actually ended up costing the party Congressional seats.) And voters could defeat the gerrymandered maps in a special election, weakening California’s governor at a dangerous moment, when he must be strong. Why take such risks?
Even worse, using anti-democratic tactics against Trump validates his authoritarianism. The fight against Trump shouldn’t become just another partisan battle between Democrats and Republicans. Instead, it must be framed as a fight between democratic self-government and a would-be dictator.
To win that contest, California must demonstrate that it is a leader—a responsible global actor, relentlessly committed to freedom and democracy, despite attacks from the fascist American government. But Newsom’s gerrymandering gambit diminishes California, and makes us look like just another larger state with a dominant political party using its might to determine election outcomes.
So, what should California do instead?
The only way to beat the awful MAGA authoritarians is by enhancing democracy—and showing a commitment to empowering the people, even if it brings your side political costs. A true democracy is one where even the political losers feel like winners.
Which is why Newsom and state leaders should move now to make California more democratic, not less. And they should demonstrate that with reforms that would give Republicans more democratic representation in California.
Two reforms in tandem would do the trick.
First, California and its Democrats should enact proportional representation, the fairest way to divide up legislative seats. Right now, Republicans get about 40 percent of the votes for Congress and the legislature in California, but they have less than one quarter of the representatives. That’s because the current winner-take-all system awards each legislative district only one representative.
A proportional system would allocate representation based on voting percentage, and would give the GOP 40 percent of the seats, nearly doubling the percentage of today’s Republican minorities in the legislature and Congress.
National Democrats would go crazy at boosting Republicans, and say California had surrendered. But so what? National Democrats never get strategy right. And right now, turning the other cheek—enhancing democracy instead of engaging in anti-democratic war—would be the real gangster move.
It would wake up a country that has become all too accustomed to an endless series of escalations. And it would demonstrate that California, at least, is dedicated to fighting for the power of everyone’s vote. Even some Republicans would be impressed and appreciative.
Second, California should combine proportional representation with the elimination of rules that make it hard for smaller political parties to form and compete in politics. [EB1] By its nature, this change would reduce the number of Democrats. But it would also reduce the power of MAGA, since Republicans who don’t like Trump could leave and form separate parties.
Dividing Californians up into more parties would inspire a new era of political coalition-making. And it would avoid a war over redistricting that is not only unwinnable but also distracts from the righteous fights we need to have.
While Newsom and other Democrat politicians obsess about gerrymandering and its effects on their own political careers, they are failing to provide Californians with the protections we need right now.
The state has done far too little to protect against major budget cuts from Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and to replace lost services from DOGE’s dismantling of federal agencies. California’s state and local law enforcement officers are failing to investigate and hold accountable the federal agents kidnapping people on our streets, and the Trump appointees ordering these lawless measures.
Meanwhile, we’re seeing very little courage and creativity from California leaders on how we might go on offense. Why aren’t we building more agencies to replace dismantled federal departments? Why aren’t we taking the fiscal fight to Trump by seizing federal property or organizing tax strikes? Where are the movements and initiatives to establish legal autonomy for the state? Or make preparations to escape the U.S., and become our own country?
Here's my theory on why California leaders aren’t working hard to protect us: Fear. They fear the consequences to their own freedom and safety if they were to challenge the vindictive Trump regime. It’s much safer to pursue a gerrymandering strategy that won’t work.
What will? The only real path to lasting victory over Trump requires boosting our courage and our democracy.
