Gerrymandering: "they both do it"

[_Kevin Graham]

Retweeted Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter):

6 swing states + Texas account for almost all of the gerrymandering—MI, NC, PA are consistently the most extreme. https://t.co/zNE2Z1IAfC https://t.co/UQDE4sJFN7

[_EAllusion]

There is a ton of academic weight coming down on the side of of curtailing partisan gerrymandering in the upcoming the Supreme Court case. I recommend reading the briefs.

Both sides do it is correct, though. Democrats have gerrymandered heavily in locations where they have the power to do so. The reason Republicans are such major beneficiaries of gerrymandering is that they were able to use their 2010 wave election to gain large gerrymandering advantages after the census. Computer modeling to maximize gerrymandering advantage just gets better with every year, so each time a party has total control of the state, they can write an even better gerrymandered map.

The fact that Democrats are just as apt to gerrymander if given the chance is something that will help forge bipartisan consensus in stopping it. In Wisconsin, which is what the case is about, Republicans actually offered Democrats a deal for non-partisan gerrymandering after 2010. They did this because they were expecting full Democratic control of the state government after being crushed in 2008. Democrats rejected that deal because they thought they were going to be able to fip Wisconsin's neutral map into one heavily gerrymandered for Democrats. Then 2010 happened, we got our ridiculously gerrymandered map, and the Democratic party was crushed into virtual irrelevance despite being a slight Democratic majority state.

In Wisconsin, you should keep two thoughts in your head at the same time. One, this is deeply unfair and likely violates equal protection under the Constitution. Two, Democratic leaders brought this on themselves.

[_The CCC]

Democrats have the profound ability to shoot themselves in the butt.

[_subgenius]

Democrats have the profound ability to shoot themselves in the butt.

Because that is where they are sighted and that is where their trigger finger is