Jack Dolan | L.A. Times | May 24, 2010
Two days after he was finally sworn in as California's lieutenant governor after a grueling partisan battle, Republican Abel Maldonado appeared on national TV with political comedian Stephen Colbert to discuss his signature issue, a primary election designed to reduce the influence of party hardliners in the Legislature.
"Why on Earth would you want to destroy the two-party system?" demanded Colbert, who parodies a right-wing cable news host.
Leaders from both major parties in California, who vehemently oppose the open-primary measure, are asking essentially the same question, only they don't see it as a laughing matter.