The campaign cycle is becoming both longer and faster -- and the machinery of politics itself is becoming constantly more, well, political. The latest evidence is out in California, where "a team of GOP lawyers" is filing petition language to replace the standard "winner take all" rule of electoral votes and instead divvy up California's electors proportionately -- thus swinging about 20 electoral votes from the Democrats to the Republicans in 2008, if the initiative passes.

Doesn't this make sense? Shouldn't electors represent proportionally the division of the electorate itself? Sure -- and that's why ideas like the NationalPopularVote -- a plan that would effectively eliminate the distorting impacts of the Electoral College on a nation-wide level -- deserve consideration.

But doing this in a single state in a cynical attempt to swing the next election to the Republicans, even if most voters across the country prefer the Democrat? That's just a bad idea that is sure to increase distrust of the political process even more. Fortunately, some people are already organizing to stop this power-grab. If you live in California, be sure to check out the Courage Campaign's efforts to stop this power grab. There's a lot of work to be done here. The idea on its face -- real representation of the electorate in California -- is belied by the actual impact -- an extreme distortion of the electorate nationally.