Fixing gerrymandering won't save the Democrats
Published February 2, 2018
by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, January 29, 2018.
North Carolina is frequently called Ground Zero for gerrymandering. Our state has been in court for almost two continuous decades arguing about drawing districts that illegally benefit one party or the other. Polls show that residents know more about the redistricting process than folks in other states. You would think that elected officials would fix the problem, but it’s never become a political issue that carries electoral consequences.
The current gerrymandering in North Carolina is egregious. The GOP has drawn districts that give them a 10-3 advantage in Congress and veto-proof majorities in both houses of the legislature despite winning the popular vote by only slightly more than 50%. Fairer districts might keep them in the majority but not by the margins they hold today.
However, progressives who see fixing gerrymandering as a panacea to their political ills will find themselves deeply disappointed. Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight laid out the problem with blaming gerrymandering for political polarization and concentration of power. He looked at the results of presidential campaigns by county since 1992. Since only districts can be gerrymandered, counties reflect the political will of the people who live there. In 1996, the presidential vote was decided by less than 10 points in 35% of the counties in the country. By 2016, that was down to 10%. Maps show the country with large swaths of deep red.
People who support Democrats or more progressive ideals may make up a small majority of the country, but they live in concentrated areas. They’re confined largely to states along the coasts with a few in urban areas in the upper Midwest. Judging from the map, the trend from the 1992 to 2016 sure looks tough for Democrats going forward. Red areas are getting redder and competitive regions are shrinking. As Enten notes, it’s not the politicians who are getting more extreme; it’s the voters.
Democrats can claim that they won the popular vote in 2016, but that doesn’t matter as far as governing. They should let go of the pipe dream that they’re somehow going to end the electoral college. They’ll never get two-thirds of the Senate and House to go along. They should also disavow themselves of the notion that districts should somehow reflect the political divisions within the states. The whole point of districts is to give voice to people who live in regions whose views might not reflect the state as a whole.
Democrats might be able to win control of Congress and a few state legislatures in a wave year like the one that seems to be shaping up in 2018, but they’ll have hard time holding them if they don’t do things differently. The way I see it, they have two choices: build a bigger tent and accept more moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia or Sen. Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota or instigate a mass migration of younger, more progressive voters into small towns and rural communities across the country. It seems building the bigger tent is the easier and more pragmatic route.
https://www.politicsnc.com/fixing-gerrymandering-wont-save-the-democrats/
February 4, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Norm Kelly says:
And yet, despite facts, what we see demoncrats doing is the exact opposite. Across the nation, including NC, demons are making their tent much, much smaller. They are ignoring citizens in favor of illegal aliens. They are segregating people into more marginalized groups. They are pitting one group against another while claiming they support both groups. They continue to claim that raising taxes is the right way to operate. They continue to claim that those who are successful only get that way by taking advantage of 'the poor'. They continue to claim that 'the rich' do not pay their fair share. (yet the refuse to define 'their fair share'; and how anyone gets rich by taking advantage of 'the poor'.)
What we actually see in the demoncrat party is further moves to the left, more dedicated to socialism than ever before. Seems that no matter how often demoncrat schemes are rejected by the majority, leaders of that organization ignore the people, and claim only their schemes will move people & the nation forward. Regardless of how badly socialized medicine impacts the majority of people in the nation, demons continue to claim the solution is full implementation of their scheme. Demons continue to claim that removing insurance companies entirely from the health equation, making central planners the final arbiter & payer, the ultimate solution.
Regardless of how forcefully it is demonstrated that the VA Health system is a total failure, and that it actually was the perfect example of how bad Obummercancer would be, demons continue to claim their schemes will fix it. Instead of allowing our veterans, who deserve excellent health care, to use whatever service provider they choose, it's actually up to central planner unelected bureaucrats to make decisions for them.
Instead of looking to the future, coming up with plans that just might work, demons by-and-large are stuck in the past, wanting to force failed schemes and socialism upon the nation; playing from the same OLD tired failed playbook. Who benefits from implementing socialism? The 'elite'. Most demon pols consider themselves part of the elite, so they look to benefit themselves.
Everything about demon schemes proves they believe themselves to be superior human beings, capable of making life decisions for less capable citizens. Everything about demon schemes proves they despise success of others, that successful people outside of politics or demon circles should be punished. Everything about demon policies/schemes proves they hate freedom 'of the people', free enterprise, and a truly educated citizenry. If you aren't educated in liberal politics, if you don't endorse the socialist schemes, you are an enemy of the demon party. (witness the reaction to 'conservative' speakers on college campuses across the nation!)
Which is why I continue to refer to the group as 'demons' and 'the demon party'. They define hatred for free people, free expression of religious beliefs, and alternative thoughts/beliefs. It's the demon way or no way at all. If an idea is expressed on college campus that is not in line with demon schemes, it's considered hate speech, and must be eliminated, shouted down, or removed from campus. This from the group that demands their right to free speech.
