I’d like to know what you think with less than 24 hours to go, Save Jerseyans. If you want my opinion, regardless of who is deemed the “winner” when the final reapportionment map is revealed tomorrow afternoon, the real loser of this process will have been the state constitution.
The 2001 map currently in effect is inarguably crap. Just look at the numbers: Republicans won more votes than Democrat in 2003 but still lost seats! In 2009, Republicans captured 52% of votes cast for the Assembly yet managed to pick up only one seat, resulting in a lopsided 47-33 Democrat majority. The natural question is how the legislature can remain so impervious to the public will.
The answer is structural. Apportionment isn’t a legislative process like the media continues to mis-report. In reality, redrawing legislative districts is a hyper-partisan process where Democrat and Republican lawyers try to persuade a proxy of the Chief Justice to choose their preferred districts for gerrymandering. Little consideration is given to what the electorate wants or how they have voted, that much is clear. Many considerations seem to be added in almost arbitrarily once the process begins, and theres no telling whether the criteria will change from 2001 to 2011 to 2021.
The silent bigotry of political correctness presents its own problems, too. PolitickerNJ.com posted an article earlier today announcing that “minority coalitions” decided to endorse the Democrat map. These groups include the likes of the NAACP, so it’s a lot like saying “Democrat state committees endorse Democrat National Committee presidential nominee.” It means nothing; no group can speak for an entire ethnicity! These groups are speaking for liberals and want to get a map that furthers that cause. And there’s certainly nothing in the state constitution requiring a “majority district” for hispanics, black, homosexuals, NRA members, Tea Party members or the obese. All people are supposed to be equal in our American system but politicians continue to throw around labels to win votes, manipulate interest groups and accumulate power. The losers? You guessed it: taxpayers, who come in all colors and shapes and sizes.
Is the Bayshore Tea Party “People’s Map” a perfect solution? Probably not, and while I wont endorse it as such, at least it’s an honest attempt to adhere by the state constitution! But I think the Tea Parties would agree that no matter what happens tomorrow, we need to have an honest discussion about what this process will look like in 2021 and beyond. Reapportionment should be a relatively simple, mathematical exercise to reflect changing population trends. As it stands, the process more closely resembles an uncle carving the Thanksgiving turkey while two greedy children fight over the last leg.
Do you agree? Comment below and offer your own predictions…
Thanks for linking BTPG.