Wouldn’t it be nice ….
The political class — with the help of the drive-by media and Blinkin’ Chris and his Manson Family — has decided that they are not competent to perform one of their basic constitutionally-mandated responsibilities. That’s right: Redistricting.
It’s funny how the loudest hollerers about redistricting are the radical left, the pouting, corner-banished Democrats, and the drive-by media. (It was soooooo much more fun when they got to fix the game to their benefit.) It’s also funny how the bitchin’ and moanin’ about redistricting has reached a crescendo amidst this period of record GOP gains at the polls. *It can’t possibly be that the public is buying the Republican platform’s message.* 
Throw in a couple of useful Republican idiots — like Chuck McGrady and Skip Stam — and you can call this whole campaign bipartisan. This big plan to take partisanship out of redistricting sounds like something only Mr. Rourke and Tattoo could have come up with. They want to find a commission of allegedly disinterested citizens to draw up the legislative and congressional districts. I tend to agree with Senator Phil Berger’s take on this whole Fantasy Island redistricting scenario:
[…] I have yet to see a so-called independent redistricting commission that is truly independent. … I’m still out there looking for that nonpartisan soul that really has no opinion about politics one way or the other that has an informational background in politics. So I believe that (state Supreme Court) decisions provide North Carolina with a set of criteria that removes many of the problems that folks have complained about with reference to redistricting. I don’t see an independent redistricting c
ommission or any of the proposals that have been floated as improving on the system that we have now. […]
In 2010, Republicans took over the General Assembly AND Congress under maps drawn by Democrats (and Republican collaborators like Richard Morgan). In certain cases, you CAN corral a bunch of voters who can be persuaded to go to the polls and mark the ballots a certain way — all in exchange for some free food, a little cash, and a ride.
Since 2010, we’ve got a much more plugged-in electorate that is going to have a lot-lower tolerance for crap. Our elected leaders need to grow up — stop sloughing off their responsibilities to these commissions — and do their jobs.
Some of the worst gerrymandering in 2011 was done by so-called nonpartisan redistricting commissions. That in California was much more blatantly partisan than anything the legislature ever bothered to do. So was Arizona’s. In both cases, the Democrats figured out how to play those commissions for partisan benefit. In California, it was largely getting a highly partisan Democrat firm hired as staff, and in Arizona getting an ultra liberal seating in the seat for the Unaffiliated voter, giving Democrats partisan control. Some also detected partisan funny business in the Congressional map by the bipartisan commission in Iowa.
Stam and McGrady are idiots and traitors and need primaries in 2016.
Funny how when the Dems were in control for 100 years that it was perfectly acceptable to constantly redistrict in their favor. Hard to redistrict certain areas of the state as they cater to the liberals that want to relocate to our fabulous state. Oh well!!!
Agree, who is to decide who is nonpartisan? As much as some may desire safeguards on one party control, an appointed comission is not the answer. It is one more layer of unelected officials taking the power away from the electorate.
My response when visiting Blinky’s web site is to note that this issue needs to be tabled until a time IF the democrat party ever gets power again, it should be the first issue they take up. If it is that important to them, it would have been done a long time ago.
New Jersey went to a bi partisan commission in the 90’s. The tie breaker has always been a poli sco prof from Rutgers. Guess which side always wins. The legislature would be derelict in its duty if this happens.
You cant do it “independently” and fairly as long as the rules force whoever’s doing it to take race into account – it’s impossible.
Throw out the absurd CRA provisions that practically demand redistricting be politically motivated, and it’d be easy-peasy.
If we only had to follow those basic state constitutional rules we “should” be using, it’s a stupidly simple matter of feeding in basic population data and county borders info and bam, done before lunch. 🙂
Until then, it’s largely a waste of time trying to smear lipstick all over that pig.