Beware the Gerrymandering Con Artists and Alchemists
I published a commentary on the Supreme Court’s decision on 19 June to hear Gill v. Whitford (the latest partisan gerrymandering case) at HuffPost here.
The Supreme Court has lamented that there seems to be no clear formula for determining whether a redistricting plan constitutes a gerrymander. So, consultants and lawyers are now suggesting that they have found the holy grail of formulae.
There is no such formula. Worse than Macbeth’s “sound and fury…signifying nothing”, any such formula will be a quiet threat to democracy. It will promote even more litigation that is paid for by…tax dollars. Yet, elections will not improve.
We do need to stop the madness…
A First Step towards Gerrymandering Reform: Less Democracy is Better
I published this in The Hill here: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/333918-less-democracy-is-better-democracy-heres-why
I recommend that one solution to gerrymandering would be to lengthen legislative terms. If our elected officials could spend less time campaigning and more time legislating, politics would improve and gerrymandering could be controlled.
The Cuba Rollback: Failing to learn from history.
This is my first post on the Huffington Post website here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5943fd0fe4b0d188d027fdc3
Blockades don’t work. The president’s decision to roll back the previous administration’s policies will prove costly and counterproductive. Those who do not learn from history…
Mark Rush 