GOP electoral plan in trouble

Several influential Republicans resigned abruptly Thursday from a political committee established to change the way California awards its electoral votes in presidential elections—a proposal Democrats said was an attempt to rig the 2008 election in favor of the GOP nominee. Associated Press in the Mercury News.

The shake-up dealt a devastating and likely fatal blow to the attempt to change the California vote rules for 2008. The committee was struggling because of poor fundraising, and even Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had said he was dubious about the idea of changing the rules.

"Sometimes it just doesn't work out," said Kevin Eckery, a committee spokesman who also resigned Thursday. "The money hasn't been coming in the way it needs to come in."