Now I'm depressed

The reason that Kevin Drum is depressed makes me depressed.

Governor Arnold delivered his State of the State speech last night, and I came away deeply depressed. But not for the reason you might expect. . .

No, what depressed me was Schwarzenegger's proposal to end gerrymandering in California — and that's hugely ironic, because . . .this is a great idea . . .

So why am I depressed? Because the insanely partisan atmosphere of contemporary American politics means I can't support this proposal even though I think it would be good for the state. . .

So as much as I hate myself for this, count me out.

Even when Democrats and Republicans agree on substance, they can't take positive steps forward because to do so would be to give aid and comfort to the enemy (i.e., the bleeding heart, appeasing liberals or the greedy, evil conservatives). I guess that I should at least give Drum credit for admitting the absurdity of this.

UPDATE: Here is an update from Drum's site:

"UPDATE: I note from my trackbacks that many moderates and conservatives are unhappy with my stand on gerrymandering reform. I don't blame them. But how about if we make a deal?

Here it is: get Texas to adopt Arnold's reform. As soon as they do, not only will I support Arnold, I will personally gather signatures, raise money, contribute money, and blog endlessly for the cause. Any takers?"

(For cross-post at Centerfield and comments posted there, click here.) (OTB).