DCCC admits to helping draw proposed new Florida redistricting maps.

Nice to see that the DCCC still hasn’t learned how to play this game:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was involved in reviewing maps submitted Tuesday to the court by one group of plaintiffs challenging the state’s congressional districts.

The admission that partisan organizations were involved in drawing maps that are formally being considered by the court adds yet another layer of political intrigue to the case. The Florida Supreme Court invalidated the current congressional lines back in July — finding them unconstitutionally drawn to favor Republicans and at odds with state anti-gerrymandering provisions — in part because Republican consultants were involved in drawing the first round of maps.

…so having a bunch of Democratic consultants draw the second round is probably not going to fly all that well with the courts. Kind of a rookie error there, in fact. I mean, Democrats in California were much better in sneaking their partisan maps through the process, honestly.

Sorry, is my cynicism showing?  It is, isn’t it, the wretched little thing. …Yeah, redistricting is one of those things that sounds easier to reform than it actually is. Here’s the unvarnished truth of the situation: the Democrats like to play vicious partisan games with election maps, and Republicans are traditionally forced to play catch-up. Or, if you prefer: Republicans ruthlessly exploit Democratic party fault lines to get districtly maps that they like, and the Democrats have to grin and bear it for the sake of party unity – and then take the whole thing to court. It doesn’t really matter; the practical result of the whole thing is that there isn’t a redistricting map in the world that doesn’t have somebody muttering darkly in a corner about it. And that’s never going to change – and maybe that’s not so bad, at that. Squabbling over election district shapes at least keeps a bunch of political lawyers and operatives busy.

Still: this was, again, a sloppy move by the DCCC. I can only assume that their desperate need to target Hispanic Republican Congressmen overwhelmed what good sense that the organization has left after seven years of Barack Obama, and nine of Nancy Pelosi. Or possibly they just didn’t think things through? Wouldn’t be the first time a political organization did that, after all.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

(H/T: @TheRickWilson)

12 thoughts on “DCCC admits to helping draw proposed new Florida redistricting maps.”

        1. Selectively adopting the tactics of another group when their goals and yours are along the same line is .. acceptable.
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          Mew

  2. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but my proposed anti-gerrymandering Constitutional Amendment reads as follows:
    .
    No Congressional District shall be drawn that does not cover at least half of its state’s land area inside of east-west lines through the northernmost and southernmost points of the District, and north-south lines through the easternmost and westernmost points of the District.

      1. Take a look sometime at a map you think is badly gerrymandered. Bet you $5 there will be at least a couple districts that would fail my test.
        No solution can prevent all gerrymandering, but mine at least prohibits these obscenely wandering districts. In one sense of the word, it enforces compactness.

          1. As long as voting districts are apportioned by population, rather than geographic divisions, there will be shenanigans.
            .
            So the federal and state houses of representatives will always be subject to gerrymandering.
            But federal and state senates are only subject because of a horrible and unlawful Warren Court decision that should have been rejected and openly defied.

          4. Gator – making sure I heard you correctly – *let* the politicians gerrymander to their alleged hearts’ content?
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            What leads you to believe that would be an improvement?
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            Mew

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