Ever the bullshit artist, Phil Berger defended his party’s latest cartographic travesty with a rant. It was a long, partisan diatribe, replete with misrepresentations and given in totally bad faith. In its disingenuousness, the Senator’s piece reflected the spirit in which his party draws districts. They clearly will not craft them with the public in mind, and that is why the courts need to do it themselves.
I am not a lawyer, so I’m in no position to question the jurisprudence. But it’s peculiar that unconstitutionally installed legislators get to draw their own maps. Even more so when they have repeatedly come back with invalid proposals, and had those rejected in turn. There is now a long record showing that NCGA mapmakers have little regard for the VRA. They cannot be trusted.
Furthermore, redistricting has become a critically important. No longer is gerrymandering a mild irritant. Partisans have at their fingertips technology that can rig elections. The stakes are too high for judges to sit back and watch as Southern conservatives once again hammer the political rights of blacks–and other citizens.
From a political perspective, I understand why the courts are reticent. Vice the NCGOP, the separation of powers makes a difference. And it should be preserved to the greatest extent possible. There comes a point, however, when one’s responsibility to democracy outweighs other considerations. Within the boundaries of the law, our courts should assume control of the redistricting process and draw fair maps.
Republicans have had their chance. We’ve gone back and forth on this for close to a decade. It is clear that fair maps are not forthcoming. After this long sequence of political groundhog days, it’s time for someone else to step in and give us the districts we deserve. It’s time for the courts to draw them.
Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.
And, once the GOP in power have their way, even the judges presiding over the courts will be partisan, rendering their decisions suspect and vulnerable. Will judicial autonomy and authority become vestiges of the past?
D.g., I am somewhat surprised that you apparently don’t understand the difference between the legislative function of our government and the judicial function. No doubt you wouldn’t accept my explanation, so it might be helpful for you to take a refresher course in Government 101.
Alex or Thomas: How about posting Mr. Berger’s rant? It would make interesting reading and allow the public to better understand why it is not getting a fair shake as to redistricting.
Set aside some time to read this thing. It’s long. He seems to think that the more times he insists it’s not a gerrymandering, the less false that statement becomes. http://www.philberger.org/redistricting_remarks
*A gerrymander.
Even if lower federal courts can’t resist the temptation to draw political districts, it’s doubtful SCOTUS will approve of federal courts undertaking a legislative function. Seems there’s this issue of separation of powers as set forth in the U.S. Constitution.
And while you assert that “Republicans have had their chance” on redistricting, so did Democrats for many years. It was ok with liberals then, but undemocratic now? Another double standard from the Left.
Liberals across the state pushed the Democrats to redistrict fairly in the 1990s and early 2000s, Ebrun. Democratic legislators, along with Republicans, introduced bills calling for nonpartisan, independent redistricting commissions, for the nonpartisan League of Women Voters to lead redistricting, and other reforms.
A few recalcitrant Democrats including Martin Nesbitt from Asheville refused to allow the bills to pass, and we are reaping what they sowed. HOWEVER — under decades of Democratic-controlled redistricting, the state legislature reflected the electorate, with, in most years, a range of 55% to 45% or, at most, 60% to 40% D-to-R breakout of both the voting rolls (based on registration) and of the legislature. in other words, the electeds represented the electors–the people.
Under Republican redistricting, Democrats won between 45% and 51% of the statewide vote for the legislature and/or Congress, but Republicans have 67% to 70% of the legislature (veto-proof majorities) and 9 of 13 Congressional seats. EVEN THOUGH Democrats won the overall popular vote in some elections.
NC doesn’t have an electoral college that can throw the election to the popular vote loser like Donald Trump; instead we have the kind of egregious, race-based gerrymandering that gives one party unlimited power — just like in the new Soviet Union that your partisans and your president so deeply admire and whose “president” you and he try to emulate.
Let’s re-emphasize that the Democratic Wing of the Party was aggressively pushing the “Business Dems” for an Independent Redistricting Commission, or at least a fair process of some kind.
I drafted more than one petition and buttonholed more than one legislator on that issue, to no avail.
Ebrun has a point that you cannot trust the “business-friendly” types to run a decent democratic process. Business is generally a dictatorship, and businesspeople in general are used to running things that way.