USDOJ should challenge PA redistricting map in court

As I'm sure you all know, it's redistricting time again. And all over this nation, state legislatures are doing their best to remove the voters from the equation of government by gerrymandering. These absurd, contorted legislative districts are designed to create safe seats - both in the US Congress and in the state legislatures themselves. In effect, the legislatures are trying to dictate the outcome of future elections to suit their political interests.

To give you an idea of just how bad this practice has gotten, I happen to live in the PA 7th district, which now looks like this:


Gerrymandering is one of the big reasons that we have a Congress that often ignores the interests and opinions of their own constituents. For example, remember when Congress decided that pizza is a vegetable? Safe districts mean that special interests are more important to our representatives then we are. They also mean that the only voters who have a chance of influencing a member of Congress are the the most extreme members of their party - the only people who can be counted on to show up at a primary.

I am of the opinion that political gerrymandering is not only corrupt and undemocratic, it's downright unconstitutional. Article 4 Section 4 of the US Constitution says:

"The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government..."

Gerrymandering undermines a republican form of government by trying to take the choice of elected officials away from the people and give it to party officials. Therefore, I think the US Department of Justice should challenge Pennsylvania's legislative map in court on that basis, and probably quite a few other states' maps as well.

 

Why did Kessy Athena not say this about Murtha’s old district in PA? Is it that Democrat-favoring gerrymanders are A-OK, but GOP-favoring gerrymanders are not?

There are plenty of gerrymanders in America, and there always have been. Elbridge Gerry was one of the signatories of the Constitution.

Wanna see a good job of redistricting? Indiana’s 2011 redistricting broke all districts on either county or township lines. All the districts are as compact as you can make them.

http://www.wrhammons.com/indiana-congressional-districts.htm

There’s a teenie little “tail” at the south end of the 4th CD, but otherwise this is as good as one can do.

 

While I disagree with gerrymandering, it's really the fault of the voter, not the politician. If people would stop voting for bought and sold idiots we'd have a better government. As is we're basically voting for people to devalue our dollar and put us in debt.

 

Actually, I did say that about Murtha's old district. I dislike Democrat partisan gerrymandering as much as Republican. I just happen to live in the PA 7th, and this map was just released a short while ago, so it was the matter at hand.

And there certainly are states that do it well. I understand that Iowa has a non partisan committee do it, made up of retired judges and such. That sounds like a great way to do it to me. Certainly better then letting the state legislatures draw their own districts. That's just asking for abuse. Is it really a good idea to let our elected representatives hand pick who will be voting in their re-election campaigns?

 

that also has nothing to do with existing county boundaries. What is the point of state-defined county boundaries?

 

Yet you were silent while Democrats gerrymandered the **** out of PA for the last few decades.......but now that Republicans are doing it........your outraged.

Nov. 2,2010--The Largest Political Ass Whooping in History had consequences.......and they happen to be consequences I love and consequences your going to have to deal with......as the liberal hordes are defeated from sea to shining sea.
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.....they allow Democrats and Statists to tax you at another level.....the county level.......as well as the federal, state, and city level.
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USDOJ should challenge PA redistricting map in court

....but the USDOJ shouldnt have challenged PA redistricting map over the last few decades.....because it was ok when Democrats were doing the redistriciting and its only wrong when its Republicans doing it.
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Ever see a map of Barney Frank's old district?

 

Yes, as a matter of fact, the DOJ should have challenged previous PA maps, and any other grossly gerrymandered state, regardless of which party it's benefiting. I've been complaining about gerrymandering for years, longer then I've been posting on this site, as a matter of fact. And I usually held up Murtha's old district as a prime example. The new 7th completely blows that one away, though.

Like I said, I think these maps should not be drawn by the legislatures at all, but by some sort of non partisan commission. And for the record, I have an exceedingly low opinion of the PA state government, regardless of who's in power. The state is extremely corrupt, running on cronyism and back room deals, as well as being generally incompetent. And I mean even in comparison to the federal government. Also for the record, I frequently vote for Republicans at the state level. PA Republicans don't seem to have been completely taken over by the Tea Party craziness. At least not yet.

 

Exactly right. If people are upset about this then they should expect more from the people that they cast votes for and then, and this is the important part, hold them responsible for their actions when the next election comes around. As it is, most people only care about this type of thing when the other guys do it, which is why it continues unabated.

 

You forget that the DOJ right now isn't an honest broker. They're heavily political. They wouldn't prosecute the civil rights violation committed by the Black Panthers because they felt whites couldn't be victimized. They're moving to stop the relocation of Boeing plants to South Carolina to protect the Washington State unions, they sued Arizona for daring to enforce immigration laws and even as we speak, they've been morally compromised by the ever expanding Fast and Furious scandal. You're pretending the DOJ is an unbiased referee, but you're wrong.

 

Non-partisan commissions can be hijacked by partisan activists in mufti.

 

Well they didnt.....

....."but now that Republicans are doing it"........the DOJ should put an end to it.

....well shoot me a link to your previous complaining so I can see it.

Because 99% of those currently complaining about gerrymandering......didnt utter a peep before the Tea-Nami of 2010. Perhaps you are the 1%......

Non partisan commissions are as real as Bigfoot.......and the belief that a commission responsible for the appropriation of political power, would somehow be immune to or refuse to engage in partisanship......is downright fantasy.

Who or what is going to determine the makeup of your Non-Partisan Commission? The Non-Partisan Voters? -- The Non-Partisan Bureaucrats?--or The Non-Partsan Yeti?

While Im no advocate of gerrymandering......I have yet to see any contention that doesnt yield the same outcome..... "Empowered Politicians drawing the lines".

Elections have consequences.....the Tea Nami of 2010 saw a massive amount of Republican Governors and Republican Legislators empowered from sea to shining sea.....God Bless America.....

........its their turn to draw the maps.....and your turn to deal with it.
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