People`s Points of View on the Gerrymandering Issue - Article Example

Gerrymandering: The Salamander Strikes Back Part Summary of article: Real Clear Politics Blog, (2008)“Comments on Gerrymandering”, Retrieved on July 19, 2009 from http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2006/10/18/comments-on-gerrymandering/ The article is actually comments emailed by blog readers about redistricting or gerrymandering. The first comment related how North Carolina’s 1992 redistricting process which created two minority/majority districts ensuring the election of 2 black Congressmen. The districts still remain up to the present. The manipulation and reorganization of districts were replicated all over the country and has allowed Republicans to rule with a majority of seats in the House and likewise permitted minority Democrats the luxury of assured reelection. This commentator laments the removal of a largely monolithic voting block from diverse Congressional districts to create ones with little or no opposition to elevate congressmen and congresswomen who may push their own agendas back home. He adds that only when both parties or the Courts realize the damage such gerrymandering has done to the country will the negative tenor of political debates eventually subside, but he is not banking on that possibility. The second commentator takes a more realistic view in expressing his favor of transparency. He claims that gerrymandering may be anti-democratic, but it is done by partisans who clearly show their partisanship. It is obvious to him that the public is aware of the political agenda of the candidates they elect and owns up to his preference for politicians whose motives are out in the open do the redistricting than other “unelected and accountable ‘worthies’” do so. He thinks that there is no such thing as an unbiased district map, and that political preferences are built-in in some districts. The third and last commentator discussed the threat of extremism posed by gerrymandering. He claims that when parties have safe districts party extremists get elected, to the disappointment and dissatisfaction of the American electorate with Congress. He explains that the massive disappointment is caused by these extremists who are often unwilling to agree on policies set by the majority of the electorate since they are decided to firmly put their foot down on their own belief system. This last commentator believes that extremism in Congress is equivalent to most congressmen believing that it is more important to take a stand than to be effective as lawmakers. To compromise in any other way means weakness on their part. When one party won’t compromise then the extremist congressmen gain more power. If Democrats do not compromise with the Republicans, more and more complications in the process of legislation becomes more extreme due to the party leaders’ fear of losing votes from their right wing extremists. The same thing happens if Democrats rule, however, this time it will be the left wing extremists that gain the upper hand. The commentator reveals his personal stand as a moderate Republican. He says he is forced to support Republican candidates because he is choosing the lesser of two evils since he is afraid of the anti-war left than he is of the social reforms of the radical right. Part 2: Analysis of the Article Gerrymandering has gained popularity as a political method of drawing of electoral districts in such a way as to create an unfair advantage or disadvantage to a particular group of voters and/or candidate. It was coined after a governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, who in 1812 signed a bill into law that redistricted his state to tremendously benefit his Republican Party. As one of the congressional districts was shaped like a salamander, the opposition, the Federalist Party then put together the word “gerrymander”. What prompted gerrymandering? In each decade, the state legislatures of the United States assess the state populations and designate a number of representatives for each state for the United States House of Representatives. Each state legislature is responsible in redistricting their state into the appropriate number of congressional districts. A single party usually controls each state legislature and it redistricts the state so that their party will have more seats in the House than the opposition party. This gerrymandering modifies congressional districts to benefit the party in power (Rosenberg, 2009) Gerrymandering can come about in various strategies. One is the “splitting technique” which draws districts in such a way as to disperse a voting group or to create numerous districts in order to allow rural areas more representatives. It spreads the voting power of the public so ruling party will have supporters everywhere. The “excess vote” is a technique which attempts to concentrate the voting power of the opposition into just a few districts so power of the opposition party is diluted outside those districts containing an overwhelming majority of the opposition’s voters (Rosenberg, 2009). Still another method is the “wasted vote” which involves diluting the voting power of the opposition across many districts thus preventing the opposition from acquiring a majority vote all over. The last method is the “packing or stacking” method which draws districts in a way that consolidates most people into the fewest districts or consolidating as a group of voters into a single district. It may involve drawing bizarre boundaries to concentrate the power of the majority party by linking distant areas into specific, party-in-power districts (Rosenberg, 2009). Such techniques are used with the goal of encompassing a certain percentage of voters from one political party. One noteworthy reason for gerrymandering that may seem like a noble cause is the drawing of electoral districts for purposes of addressing under-represented rural minority voters. This way, they feel included in the voting process no matter what agenda the political candidate may have in mind. Although gerrymandering was attempted to be controlled using computers in the 1990 and 2000 Census to make redistricting as fair as possible, politics does get in the way and many redistricting plans are challenged in the courts involving various sensitive issues such as excluding some racial groups (Rosenberg, 2009). The article just manifests people’s reactions to a reality and how they cope with it. Some people may find injustice in gerrymandering due to the unfair advantage that results from it for certain people in power, however, some people merely shrug it off as a fact of life we just have to live by. Some people may over-analyze the causes and effects of the various strategies people resort to in order to move forward and upward. The article is just proof that people who are gerrymandered are intelligent, analytical voters who know their rights and are not subjects that may be easily manipulated by political puppeteers. They may go with the flow of the system, but go with their eyes wide open. Should they see any injustice done to them or to others who may not be aware of it, they speak out, just like the commentators in the article, in the hopes that their opinions will be taken seriously and make a difference in the system. Still, some political candidates know that there are yet a lot of clueless voters who can easily fall prey with promises of a better life and gestures to express concern for their welfare. It is surmised that gerrymandering candidates wish these are the kinds of people who live in the districts they select to come into their turf, as their voting power would be much easier to exploit. Although the agenda of gerrymandering is out in the open, it continues to be practiced as an accepted strategy for one-upmanship in politics. References Real Clear Politics Blog, (2008)“Comments on Gerrymandering”, Retrieved on July 19, 2009 from http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2006/10/18/comments-on- gerrymandering/ Rosenberg, M. (2009) “Gerrymandering: How States Create Congressional Districts Based on Census Data”, Retrieved on July 19, 2009 from http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/gerrymandering.htm Read More