Of course, the controversy over gerrymandering is really just about power. The Democrats, who controlled the redistricting process for decades and did their own gerrymandering, have lost control to the Republicans. And the GOP is using advanced analytics to press its advantage. The focus on strange-looking congressional districts is just a fetish designed to rally a news media and public whose worldview is dominated by superficiality.
In re-drawing lines, both parties sought to limit the number of truly competitive congressional seats. Using past voting behavior and matching that behavior with demographics, each party developed their own pretty solid predictive models of electorate behavior. Both parties essentially walked away from actually persuading neutral or opposing voters.
Beyond this devaluation of persuasion, the current debate avoids important and fundamental questions about representation in a democracy. Namely, what is fair representation? Is it districts that contain all the same kinds of people (conservative or liberal; rural, urban or suburban and so on) – likely electing a Member of Congress who will be the pure representation of a particular political philosophy or economic interest? Or are we better served with mixed districts where the Member has to compromise among many interests (and those interests need to try to accommodate one another)?
Should representation be about profit-maximization? In other words, should states protect Members with seniority (i.e. power) so as to get more out of the federal government? Certainly state legislators and local elected officials, whose own budgets and policy are heavily impacted by the federal government, would rather keep their Appropriations Committee Chair in place rather than protect some first-termer who can’t even find the Capitol cafeteria.
Perhaps districts should have the same demographic and partisan proportions as each state. If that were the case, large swathes of the electorate would actually lose representation. A purely proportional map where people voted by racial identity would result in zero African-Americans in Congress. If we go by economic interests or rural v. urban, there would be no representation for rural or agricultural interests in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois – states which are mostly urban, but still have large rural constituencies.
In the end it is partisanship that has been placed front and center. Democrats are claiming that their voters have been treated unfairly by mapmakers in states such as North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania (ignoring the always-present option of actually persuading voters). Their opening gambit has been the argument against weirdly shaped districts.
But the Democrats have a problem, their own voters are heavily clustered in cities, which means more Democratic votes are “wasted” in non-competitive contests than Republican votes. There are urban congressional districts that vote in excess of 85% Democratic. No such districts exist for Republicans.
The upshot: In order for Democrats to get an equal proportion of Congressional seats they have to draw Congressional districts just as oddly shaped as Republican did. The Democrats and their supporters in academia have come up with a thing called the “efficiency gap” – which is just a made-up concept meant to excuse their own gerrymandering.
In the end, there really is no proof that weird looking congressional districts are inherently unjust. Nor is there a coherent argument against challenging both parties to simply work to persuade people in supposedly non-competitive districts. Vote history is just that – history. People can change their minds, it just involves effort and a bit of compromise.
Those who shake their fists at gerrymandering and clog the courts with their lawsuits are really announcing their own rigidity and intellectual bankruptcy to the world.
Source:>>>>>>>>>>>Here
Comment:
Yes, but not necessarily. Even the electoral college system, is a form of Gerrymandering. (which I agree with by the way) However, obviously, if it were just by number of votes, Hillary would have won the presidency. Also, 2 Senators from each State is another form of Gerrymandering. (which I agree with) Obviously, with the electoral college and 2 Senators from each state, this gives more power to the smaller populated States, and takes away power from the large populated States, in order to allow smaller populated States to have power, and not be over ridden by simple majority rule. This is an intelligent system in a union/confederation of States forming a country, and even in organizations where multiple countries or differing interests are present, in my opinion.
But it is still a form of Gerrymandering, and will always be subject to disagreement by some, and agreement by others.
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)
"FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY"
and is protected speech pursuant to the "unalienable rights" of all men, and the First (and Second) Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. In God we trust.
Stand Up To Government Corruption and Hypocrisy
NEVER FORGET THE SACRIFICES
BY OUR VETERANS Note: We at The Friends Of Liberty cannot make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information.
Don't forget to follow the Friends Of Liberty on Facebook and our Page also Pinterest , Twitter , Tumblr and Google Plus PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.
LibertygroupFreedom 
The Friends Of Liberty is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission to Educate, protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights.
Support the Trump Presidency and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.
WE THE PEOPLE
TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Join The Resistance and Share This Article Now!
TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Help us spread the word about Friends Of Liberty Blog we're reaching millions help us reach millions more.
Help us spread the word about Friends Of Liberty Blog we're reaching millions help us reach millions more.
‼️️ ♻️ PLEASE SHARE ♻️ ‼️️
Please SHARE this now! The Crooked Liberal Media will hide and distort the TRUTH. It’s up to us, Trump social media warriors, to get the truth out. If we don’t, no one will!
Share this story on Facebook and let us know because we want to hear YOUR voice!
Please SHARE this now! The Crooked Liberal Media will hide and distort the TRUTH. It’s up to us, Trump social media warriors, to get the truth out. If we don’t, no one will!
Share this story on Facebook and let us know because we want to hear YOUR voice!
No comments:
Post a Comment