Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering has been with us since 1812, both sides have been using it even before the formation of the modern political party which Andrew Jackson established the first after his lost to J.Q. Adams. To expect either of our modern political parties to stop using something that gives them a political advantage is probably insane. Neither will. There’s been a few states which have tried to get rid of gerrymandering, but it has been done through voter initiative, not by anything a state legislature did. In fact, in those 5 or 6 states that have gone to a non-partisan independent commission to draw districts, the state legislatures of each opposed the voter initiative. If anything is to be done about gerrymandering, it will have to be done by the voter, not by any state legislature or politician no matter what they say to even condemning gerrymandering. Rhetoric is cheap, action is non-existent.

The initiative must also state that once the independent, non-partisan commission draws the lines, they are final. That the state legislature and or governor can’t reject them as New York state legislature just did 3 times to New York Independent commission.

I'm still interested in answers to this question.

I'm also now interested in whether the new theory that gerrymandering is the primary cause behind the gridlock and lack of compromise in Congress, or could it be something else?

If un-gerrymandering creates equal non-partisan voting precincts then there will be many who believe this to be unfair.
Does that answer your question?

I think the answer is to keep as many counties whole and districts as compact as possible. Let whatever the partisan lean in the districts be what it is. Don’t worry about trying to make the district equal of Democrats and Republican or anything else. Whatever the makeup of the population of the whole counties making up the district be what it is. I live in a county of around 70,000 folks which was divided into 3 districts. There’s no reason why the county couldn’t have remained whole and be placed in one single district.

Several years ago, I took the population by country, using only a stubby pencil drew up Georgia’s 14 districts with 700,000 give or take 20,000. I had to divide just 8 out of Georgia’s 159 counties. Of course, I just went by county population numbers, not voting habits, not taking race into consideration or anything else, just did it with the goal of keeping as many counties whole and the districts as compact as possible.

I work 5 days a week and catch a 5am ferry and it’s 18.1 miles from the house and I need to be there 10 mins before it leaves?

The idea that gerrymandering is to cause gridlock is absurd on the face of it. The purpose of gerrymandering is to win enough seats to conrtrol legislatures and committees to get an agenda passed - usually the agenda of the wealthy donors.

If oil and gas are doing that then, its probably dead. Remember, they were put in charge of nuclear energy a very long time ago and we are continuing to get to experience what they wrought. They worked, VERY hard, to explain just how dangerous it was to the point that, even when we now know how to make completely safe, environmentally safe, reactors its unlikely many will be built.

I, incidentally, support nuclear power, especially the smaller varieties that we know about. I also think that all the current, and dangerous, nuclear power plants should be shut down. I like SMR's best as they are small, can be made in a factory and delivered on a truck and are flat out safe. Then, no more coal, no more dams, no more windmills, no more thousand mile power deliveries, etc. (all of which are not exactly helping our environment).

West Virginia’s Governor just signed a law reversing the ban on nuclear power. Even coal country now sees the writing on the wall.

Not the primary cause, but not absurd.

https://www.legbranch.org/2018-1-30-does-gerrymandering-cause-gridlock-in-congress/

Not sure… are you saying the meaning of ‘gerrymandering’ is in the eyes of the beholder?