{"id":2197,"date":"2021-01-02T18:41:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T18:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/?page_id=2197"},"modified":"2021-01-02T20:17:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T20:17:25","slug":"on-the-despicable-practice-of-gerrymandering","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/on-the-despicable-practice-of-gerrymandering\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Despicable Practice of Gerrymandering"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever wondered why politicians from both parties keep getting elected again and again and again? Why do we have \u201csafe districts\u201d where the incumbent doesn\u2019t even need to campaign and is assured of re-election?  Why, in short, are many \u2013 if not most \u2013 elections rigged for the incumbent?  The answer has its roots in the early days of the republic when politicians realized they could draw lines around their own districts to ensure only loyal partisans were included.  This is Gerrymandering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, who was Gerry?  As it turns out, \u201cGerry\u201d was Elbridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts in 1812, who approved a new map for State Senators that favored his political party.  One of these new districts in the Boston area resembled a salamander in that it meandered in and out of the area with the only prerequisite for inclusion being a predominant number of Democratic-Republicans.  Hence the moniker \u201cgerrymandering\u201d for willfully drawing political districts that only include like-minded constituents or dilute the number of potential opponents.  In this way, it\u2019s possible to create a district where one party is practically guaranteed to win elections in perpetuity since it contains the maximum possible number of like-minded constituents.  If, through the years, the population changes, the state legislatures can simply re-draw the gerrymander\u2019s silhouette to encompass faithful voters.  A sinister coda to this plan is to draw a district with just enough opponents inside to ensure that their vote is wasted within the rigged district.  This reduces the number of \u201cenemy\u201d voters whose votes might have been effective in electing an opponent in an adjoining district.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, this is legal?  Well, of course it is!  States have the responsibility for drawing election boundaries within their borders.  There\u2019s no set way to do it.  A state legislature controlled by a party can create boundaries according to whatever conditions they desire.  Courts have (at times) found some of these gerrymandered districts to be illegal due to civil rights concerns \u2013 meaning that they have been found to disenfranchise minority groups \u2013 but never on the basis of consolidating voters of a certain political \u201cteam\u201d to create \u201csafe\u201d districts for a particular party.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the problem, you may ask?  What\u2019s wrong with drawing districts that only contain like-minded voters?  Well, despite the fact that just looking at some of these preposterous district borders shocks the conscience (really, just looking at these districts triggers a primal \u201cthis is unnatural and wrong\u201d reflex), the existence of these districts perpetuates the life of the unnatural animals known as \u201ccareer politicians\u201d.  I am regularly shocked whenever I see that a district is \u201cuncontested\u201d during an election.  Are the constituents in this district so disengaged from their fates that they are comfortable electing the same person again and again to represent them?  Has their community, wants, needs and aspirations fossilized so much that there is never a need for change, for discussion, for the contestation of new ideas?  Where is the American ideal that venerates competition?  Where is the outrage over positions unearned?  How do we allow the bedrock of our democracy \u2013 the ability to choose our representatives \u2013 be undermined by self-serving politicians manipulating the system to stay in office forever?  The answer is that we\u2019ve given up our freedoms to the politicians.  We\u2019ve allowed them to make and remake election rules that are designed to keep the same people in power forever.  That is a sad commentary on the American people.  But it can be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, as a constituency, should demand an end to gerrymandering.  We should let our state representatives know that we will not support it in the future and demand reform.  What would that reform look like?  Well, one solution is to draw our districts geometrically, without regard for the political leanings of the population contained therein.  Let\u2019s look at an example.  For ease of viewing (and drawing), let\u2019s take a notional rectangular shaped state, like some of those in the interior of the country.  You could start by choosing a corner (I chose the upper right) and drawing \u2013 or pulling \u2013 a square or rectangle until you encompass the number of voters needed in a district.  You would then begin the process again to draw an adjoining district, and continue (and adjust) until you accounted for all districts necessary.  Please see below for a hypothetical example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hypothetical State District Map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the advantage?  Citizens who truly wish to represent the citizens of their district must espouse ideals, a platform or ideas that resonate with a majority of the inhabitants of the district.  The district may include Democrats and Republicans, liberal and conservative, rich and poor, rural and urban, old and young, religious and non-religious.  It may include Independents, minorities, and immigrants.  It forces the candidate to compete for EVERY vote \u2013 not just pander to a safe majority of voters specifically chosen by the legislature to ensure a pre-determined outcome.  It forces the winner to work hard while in office to truly represent the will of the people.  After all, he or she owes their position to the people in their district, not some magical district border drawn by like-minded cronies in the state legislature.  It creates a much-needed competition of ideas between candidates who finally need to legitimately earn the trust of every voter \u2013 not just take their support for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are initiatives out there to stop gerrymandering.  Arnold Schwarzenegger (yes, THE Terminator and former governor of California) is leading a nationwide effort to combat gerrymandering (no, really \u2013 look it up). We \u2013 as full voting members of this country \u2013 need to educate ourselves on how we can be a part of the effort. Make no mistake \u2013 gerrymandered districts are a tool of the career politicians of the two-party system to rob you of your choices and of legitimate representation.  It is a perversion of the ideals set down by the founding fathers and should be outlawed now.  The power is in your hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wondered why politicians from both parties keep getting elected again and again and again? Why do we have \u201csafe districts\u201d where the incumbent doesn\u2019t even need to campaign and is assured of re-election?  Why, in short, are many \u2013 if not most \u2013 elections rigged for the incumbent?  The answer has its roots in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2197","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"scubafuss@aol.com","author_link":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/author\/scubafussaol-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Have you ever wondered why politicians from both parties keep getting elected again and again and again? Why do we have \u201csafe districts\u201d where the incumbent doesn\u2019t even need to campaign and is assured of re-election?  Why, in short, are many \u2013 if not most \u2013 elections rigged for the incumbent?  The answer has its roots in the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2207,"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2197\/revisions\/2207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filiipublii.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}