There is a lot to say about all this redistricting/gerrymandering talk. Let me note three so that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.
First, the brazenness of this power play is noteworthy. The President of the United States publicly asked for these new maps without even pretending like there was some reason to do it apart from the fact that it would give his party more seats in the next election. It should be obvious, but presidents shouldn’t ask for such things. And, moreover, it should be alarming for a president to be blatantly asking for a state legislature to knowingly, obviously, and calculatedly take away representation from some of the state’s voters.
Second, this is a pure power play of a unique nature, as per political scientist Bethany Albertson.
She is correct. This is the same party that was in power when the current set of maps was drawn, and has now decided to tweak them only a few years later in the hopes of maximizing their power. Taken to its logical conclusion, parties that control state government could constantly tweak maps pretty much every two years to make sure their party maximizes seats in the House. This is not democratic competition. Taken to its logical conclusion could almost entirely eliminate democratic competition in the US for House elections, and even for state legislative elections.
Third, I know a lot of Republicans are taking to Twitter and elsewhere to point out other states that have gerrymanders and/or weird-looking districts (which, BTW, are not necessarily the same thing, i.e., not all weird-looking districts prove a gerrymander). And yes, as I have noted for years (decades?), there are deeply problematic issues with single-seat districts, especially in the US. But engaging in whataboutism does not excuse points two and three above.
