The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : California Gerrymandering, RIP

Text Size

The Spectacle Blog

California Gerrymandering, RIP

By Doug Bandow on 6.21.11 @ 9:20AM

So much for legislative "clout" on Capitol Hill, which usually means the ability to mulct the public for the benefit of special interest groups which then will contribute towards one's reelection. Because voters took the power of redistricting away from the state legislature, California's incumbent congressmen may no longer look forward to easy and perpetual reelection.

Reports the Washington Post:

In 2010, voters got fed up and passed a ballot initiative - Proposition 20 - to take control of congressional redistricting away from the state legislature and hand it to an unelected commission. That body has now presented its first draft of a congressional map that sent shock waves through the state, drawing several members out of their current districts and into potential fights with other lawmakers.

"That's what the people wanted," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.). "They wanted a redistricting that ignored the protection of incumbents."

Will any of the state's most senior members fall victim to the new map? The jury is still out - and the map faces more revisions before the lines are set - but there's no question that some long-protected incumbents will have a hotter summer than usual.

America likes to call itself a republic, but what kind of democratic system creates an unlevel political playing field in which legislators have higher reelection rates than members of the old Soviet Communist Central Committee had retention rates? Now if only we could apply term limits to Congress.

View all comments (7) | Leave a comment

Scott| 6.21.11 @ 10:07AM

We have term limits. They're called elections.

For all the talk of gerrymandering and whatnot, at the end of the day, elected officials are in office because they are ELECTED. If the voters didn't want them, or at least prefer them to any of the other choices, they'd get rid of them.

Warrior| 6.21.11 @ 3:42PM

How about making potential voters take a small ten question test prior to being allowed to register. Simple questions like name the VP, spell your name correctly, what are the first ten amendments to the Constitution named...

Scott| 6.21.11 @ 10:25PM

I could go for "spell your name correctly." As for the rest, I think it's unfair to hold voters to a higher standard than elected officials.

Come to think of it, maybe we shouldn't have that "spell your name correctly" thing...

Paul Windels| 6.21.11 @ 10:42AM

The issue of redistricting commissions is always who is on the commission. Finding truly impartial and nonpartisan players is tricky, as it is very easy to dress up a partisan in nonpartisan garb. Perhaps the work of any commission should have to be ratified by the voters at a general election.

carol| 6.21.11 @ 12:08PM

what map are you looking at
the redistricting group are pawns and have not made any real changes and probably won't it's a fraud and a con we have a real non- gerrymandered map if you need it