{"id":51898,"date":"2021-10-15T16:25:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=51898"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:25:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:25:23","slug":"elbridge-gerry-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=51898","title":{"rendered":"Elbridge Gerry and me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the Gerry gentleman’s dates (1744-1814)\u00a0<\/a>precede mine, he never knew me. But I know him, and for more than his most prominent connection, the portmanteau term “gerrymander.”<\/p>\n

Elbridge Gerry, as I’m learning from reading The People’s Constitution<\/em>, by John F. Kowal and Wilfred U. Codrington III (2021, The New Press), was an active participant in our Revolution and all our founding documents; he was most insistent upon the Bill of Rights. He served in many elected and appointed governmental capacities in the new United States.<\/p>\n

So he was a good guy, a verifiable Founding Father.<\/p>\n

I’m not going to delve into the reason his name became a label for the now-reprehensible practice of redistricting states into wacky shapes like a salamander, but here we are.<\/p>\n

When John Roberts’ Supreme Court decided that a highly efficient, non-partisan method for redistricting was “gobbledegook”<\/a> (that was the actual word Roberts used), and thus allowed states to continue gerrymandering, I was crushed and furious.<\/p>\n

Lately, I’ve been seeing drafts of redistricting maps coming out of states. If I had a sense of humor about this, I’d get cute in labeling some of these districts. But I have no sense of humor about a radical minority, egregiously not devoted to anything like responsible governance, seizing seats and power by this method.<\/p>\n

So you’d have to judge me an anti-gerrymandering supporter. Turn the work over to a non-partisan commission, use computer analyses, whatever. But do not gerrymander your state.<\/p>\n

Right. If Congress is able to pass one or both of the potent voting rights acts now in the Senate which will apply universally, i.e., to all<\/em> states, well, OK. But all states<\/em> must be subject to the same rules which will send “gerrymander” into the glossary of antiquated political practice and terminology.<\/p>\n

But until such legislation passes, I don’t want my very blue state, New York, to be a highly moral Goodie Two Shoes about redistricting. Gail Collins explains the redistricting situation in NYS better than anybody<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Every state has its own special way of getting redistricting done. But one common approach is a bipartisan commission, given the task of redrawing the district maps. Said commission then goes over all the relevant data, feeds it into a computer, comes up with the boundary lines and then retires to private life bearing the thanks of a grateful state.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hehehehehe.<\/em><\/p>\n

If Texas is going to gerrymander, I want all blue states to gerrymander in defense.<\/p>\n

Because the NYS census came up 89 census forms short, we’ve lost two congressional seats. I’ve read that if the State legislature decides not to accept the ever-so-decent redistricting map, they can draw one which will eliminate maybe as many as five congressional seats.<\/p>\n

We all have our favorites for elimination. A few names I’ll drop (all Trump supporters): Elise Stefanik<\/a>, Lee Zeldin<\/a> (who’s planning a run for governor anyway) and, oh, how about Claudia Tenney?<\/a> She who has been paying her own businesses $$$ for providing services to her campaign?<\/a> That one.<\/p>\n

That’s my confession, and I issue it without a moment of shame.<\/p>\n

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Since the Gerry gentleman’s dates (1744-1814)\u00a0precede mine, he never knew me. But I know him, and for more than his most prominent connection, the portmanteau term “gerrymander.” Elbridge Gerry, as I’m learning from reading The People’s Constitution, by John F. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6737,337,1095,1175,1265],"tags":[2207,7769,7764,7767,7771,895,1191,2319,7773,7770,1411,7768,7766,738,1763,7775,7772,3639,7774,7765],"class_list":["post-51898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-judiciary","category-legal-news","category-politics","category-the-facts-of-life","category-voting-rights","tag-bill-of-rights","tag-claudia-tenney","tag-elbridge-gerry","tag-elise-stefanik","tag-freedom-to-vote-act","tag-gail-collins","tag-gerrymandering","tag-gobbledegook","tag-john-f-kowal","tag-john-lewis-voting-rights-act","tag-john-roberts","tag-lee-zeldin","tag-new-york-state-redistricting","tag-scotus","tag-the-brennan-center","tag-the-new-press","tag-the-peoples-constitution","tag-voting-rights-act","tag-wilfred-u-codrington-iii","tag-wisconsin-v-gill"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t