If you can get past the reflexive Republican- and conservative-hating (which unfortunately colors the rest of the article, so maybe you can’t, or at least shouldn’t), this article by Cynthia Tucker on racial gerrymandering (via comments here) hits the major problems with such a scheme. Which are: it creates hyper-partisan districts that typically produce absolute clowns for legislators; it allows the Republican party to easily create merely partisan districts for its side; and racial gerrymandering essentially eliminates any need for the Democratic party to take seriously the desires and concerns of African-American voters (the Democrats like having clown legislators, as they’re easier to control).
Mind you, Cynthia Tucker doesn’t take it far enough – but that’s mostly because Cynthia Tucker apparently isn’t fond of white people, or at least white, conservative people. The problem with majority-minority districts is not that that they’re majority-minority districts; it’s that they’re usually hyper-partisan Democratic districts. If voters in them wised up and voted for Republican candidates more often Cynthia Tucker would be amazed at how quickly the Democrats would abandon defending the principle of racial gerrymandering. And – this article aside – she’d probably be a little nauseated, too…
That whole article was almost as funny as it was depressing. I’m willing to wager that the author would call anyone who called for an end to “majority-minority Gerrymandering” prior to June 1st a “RAAAACIST!!”.
I’m so sick of racial politics. We wouldn’t have to have affirmative action, racial gerrymandering and all the rest if it wasn’t because of the Democrat party, and their refusal to let ALL people be treated equally under the same laws in the first place, going back to even before the formation of the Republican party.
The amazing thing to me is how few a number of people know this or are even willing to believe it when told.
I am starting to wonder if the Republicans are packing the districts the way they do not merely to take partisan advantage, but to so discredit stupid Voting Rights Act that the Dems are forced to argue against it in court.
See Petard, Hoist to Own.
“it creates hyper-partisan districts that typically produce absolute clowns for legislators”. “It” does no such thing. As I’ve said about Massachusetts, the voters do this sort of foolishness. As long as they continue to wish to vote for these clowns, these clowns will continue in office. Having said that, I find the idea of district lines based on race to be odious to a free people. Unfortunately we are not as free as we once were.