Arnold Schwarzenegger publicly tore into Governor Gavin Newsom’s claim that California’s proposed redistricting would be only “temporary,” calling that argument “total fantasy” during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. Schwarzenegger warned that government “temporary” fixes almost always become permanent, a blunt reminder that political power rarely relinquishes itself once seized.
The comments come as California prepares a special election on Proposition 50 on November 4, 2025, a ballot maneuver pushed by Newsom and Democratic lawmakers that would replace maps drawn by the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission with legislature-drawn maps for the next few election cycles. Supporters frame it as a defensive move against recent Republican-led mid-cycle redistricting in other states, but critics rightly see it as a calculated power play.
Schwarzenegger didn’t mince words: he predicted future justifications would be found to keep the politicized maps in place, effectively making the so-called “temporary” change permanent and eroding the very reforms he championed as governor. That isn’t idle speculation—history is littered with “temporary” governmental expansions that never end, and the former governor’s warning should ring alarm bells across the political spectrum.
This fight is not abstract. National media and political outlets have reported how Prop 50 and related legislative moves aim to neutralize Republican gains in states like Texas by engineering new Democratic-friendly districts in California, a tactic that substitutes raw power for genuine electoral competition. The effort has drawn organized pushback, including from high-profile figures who once supported the commission system; what’s happening is essentially a bipartisan confession that if you can’t win fair and square, you’ll rewrite the rules to win.
Conservative commentators have seized on Schwarzenegger’s rebuke, and figures like Dave Rubin have circulated clips and commentary highlighting how even prominent establishment allies of the left are calling out Newsom’s hypocrisy. That cross-aisle outrage underscores a simple truth: weaponizing redistricting corrodes public trust and hands more control to politicians rather than voters.
From a conservative perspective, this episode exposes the moral bankruptcy of power-first politics. When leaders promise “temporary” fixes as cover for consolidating partisan advantage, they are showing contempt for the idea of equal representation and for the constitutional safeguards built to prevent exactly this sort of manipulation.
If there’s anything to admire in Schwarzenegger’s intervention, it’s his willingness to call out bad policy regardless of partisan convenience; that kind of principle should be standard, not exceptional. Americans who care about fair rules and honest competition should be skeptical of any politician who asks to bend the system “just this once” — because, as the Governator reminded viewers, “temporary” in government almost always means permanent.
