When Your Congressional District Looks Like a Game of Space Invaders, Be Pretty Sure It's Gerrymandered........
Happy Labor Day Weekend to everyone! It's been a long week for us, so the prospect of having the next three days off with little to do came just in time. Kicking off the rebirth of SC6, we are trying to define what needs fixing in American Politics. Yesterday was an easy and popular target. Today, we are going into a lesser know, but even more dangerous cause of our current mess: Gerrymandering.
For those political neophytes out there, gerrymandering is when the lines of a district are manipulated to give a certain party or candidate a decided advantage. Simply put, it's rigging the game. Ask most strategists, military or otherwise, what's the most effective way to win a fight, and most will tell you to fix the battle ahead of time. Most battles are won BEFORE they are fought.........
Above, you see the 4th Congressional District of Illinois, which for the past 21 years has been held by Luis Gutierrez. I didn't pull up his election results, but it's safe to say that he probably hasn't encountered much of a challenge in his 11 terms. The 4th is widely regarded as one of the best examples of gerrymandering. Clearly, when they made the district map, they had the two major section northwest and southwest of Chicago, and they needed to find a path of least resistance to connect the two. Hence, the west loop that is probably about two blocks wide.....
Now you might be thinking this isn't a big deal, but the problem is this goes on all over the country, in every national, state and local district. Don't believe me? Just check out your state senator or representative's district map.... While you'd like to blame the other party for the problem, here is the saddest part - BOTH parties set it up in coercion. Yep, just look at South Carolina as an example. It's a pretty red state, with Republicans usually winning statewide by about 10%. With seven districts, common sense would dictate that the seats would be split 4-3 in favor of Republicans. Nope, it's 6-1........... and that one isn't changing hands anytime. Why, because it's agreed to by all congressmen involved. The 6th District is set up like scraping up table scraps of minority voters to give Jim Clyburn a permanent 67% cakewalk every two years in perpetuity. If he gave up some of his voters, Democrats might actually have a second or possibly third congressman in Washington......
While congressmen get an idea of the district map long before it comes down the pike, it is eventually OK'd by the Justice Department. But, if you're waiting for the day that DoJ comes down on a district that is overwhelmingly in favor of minority congressmen, don't hold your breath.... Both Democrats and Republicans have no problem with the current setup, because Republicans have a pretty good idea that if not for gerrymandering, they might NEVER control the House of Representatives. Cozy arrangement indeed.....
Now, here is the part that should worry you. First, a warning....... If you are a super Left Wing or Right Winger, I am about to piss you off. Gerrymandering ultimately hurts America by making these districts MORE red, and MORE blue. It's estimated that 90-95% of Congress gets re-elected every two years. Why? Because they have little to no competition. What little competition there is usually comes from within the party from a more extreme sect. So eventually, the districts become more and more extreme, and the center whittles away. In 2010, I did a post which named the 20 congressmen/women as 'the easiest to get along with' by the other party. By 2013, 16 of them were out of Congress, and three of them were dead.....
Back in the 80's, the members of Congress used to go to the bar, have a drink, and work out whatever issue was at hand. Now, simply being in a picture with a member of the opposing party is grounds for a primary challenge.... Why? Because of gerrymandering, and because the 80% of sensible voters stopping showing up at off-year and primary elections, surrendering the power to the extreme and motivated 20%. It's unlikely to go away. The Get Out The Vote programs are so detailed, they know which houses to knock on, and which to skip, and pray they forget it's Election Day.
While more competitive districts make it harder to keep control of Congress, they ultimately empower the moderates to run Congress, leading to compromise and legislation that eventually can help end the gridlock and lack of action that we pay these clowns (Bobby?) $174,000 a year to do......
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