Because They Can
Seems the GOP in Georgia isn't satisfied with their 7-6 lead in the Congressional Delegation and they want to re-redistrict a larger number of seats. In fact, they basically want to make it so that the only Democrats are those representing majority African-American districts.
While this obviously screams for redistricting reform, it also reminds me of the quandry of minority-majority districts. There is a desperate need in Congress to represent minorities who, as I'm sure later posts will discuss have been historically disempowered as political money contributors. However, the districts created to ensure minority representation suck Democratic voters out of other potentially winnable districts.
An illustration is my hometown Greensboro, NC. It's represented by three different congressman Howard Coble, Mel Watt and Brad Miller. Miller, whose white, was the architect of his own district, created while he was in the State legislature. It comes from Wake County and reaches in to grab just enough Greensboro Dems to give Miller, from Raleigh, a fairly safe seat. Unfortunately for those Greensboro Dems, they stand virtually no chance at winning a primary because most of the Democratic votes are in Miller's back yard. (There are two top ten college basketball programs between Miller and his triad voters.)
But of course, Miller isn't the main reason why it is likely no Greensboro Democrat will be elected to Congress until 2012, at the earliest. Mel Watt, who is African-American represents a district that starts in Charlotte and then runs up I-85 to Greensboro, pulling in African-American neighborhoods (and yours truly in Winston-Salem - there's only one top ten college basketball program between Watt and triad voters - well, at least one half a top ten program - Wake doesn't play defense). The result - Coble, a Republican, not from Greensboro, has barely been contested because his seat is so safe. By the time Miller came along in 2000, Coble's district was barely recognizable from the one in which ballots had to go missing for him to win in 1986.
Of course, there is a danger for republicans in blatantly redistricting "because they can" as the post points out. There are Dems in charge of other legislators. And when they redistrict, they won't have to worry about the Voting Rights Act preventing them from eliminating majority African-American seats held by Republicans.
While this obviously screams for redistricting reform, it also reminds me of the quandry of minority-majority districts. There is a desperate need in Congress to represent minorities who, as I'm sure later posts will discuss have been historically disempowered as political money contributors. However, the districts created to ensure minority representation suck Democratic voters out of other potentially winnable districts.
An illustration is my hometown Greensboro, NC. It's represented by three different congressman Howard Coble, Mel Watt and Brad Miller. Miller, whose white, was the architect of his own district, created while he was in the State legislature. It comes from Wake County and reaches in to grab just enough Greensboro Dems to give Miller, from Raleigh, a fairly safe seat. Unfortunately for those Greensboro Dems, they stand virtually no chance at winning a primary because most of the Democratic votes are in Miller's back yard. (There are two top ten college basketball programs between Miller and his triad voters.)
But of course, Miller isn't the main reason why it is likely no Greensboro Democrat will be elected to Congress until 2012, at the earliest. Mel Watt, who is African-American represents a district that starts in Charlotte and then runs up I-85 to Greensboro, pulling in African-American neighborhoods (and yours truly in Winston-Salem - there's only one top ten college basketball program between Watt and triad voters - well, at least one half a top ten program - Wake doesn't play defense). The result - Coble, a Republican, not from Greensboro, has barely been contested because his seat is so safe. By the time Miller came along in 2000, Coble's district was barely recognizable from the one in which ballots had to go missing for him to win in 1986.
Of course, there is a danger for republicans in blatantly redistricting "because they can" as the post points out. There are Dems in charge of other legislators. And when they redistrict, they won't have to worry about the Voting Rights Act preventing them from eliminating majority African-American seats held by Republicans.
posted by SebbyMan at 4:42 PM
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