The way this redistricting is being put forth in some states, like Tennessee, which just passed brand new maps that should give Republicans all their seats in the House, well just feels wrong.
Of course, I’m all about getting rid of race-based districts. That kind of gerrymandering has been done to force illegitimate representation in Congress by ignoring the actual population of a state.
But the way Tennessee legislators are describing their motivations to create this new map and their messaging about it, well it kinda sounds like partisan gerrymandering.
This is from the primary sponsor of the new map in the Senate, via The Hill:
State Sen. John Stevens (R), the primary sponsor of the new map, said on the Senate floor that the map was designed to “maximize Republicans’ ability to win nine seats in the upcoming midterm elections,” as shouts of “liar” echoed from outside the chamber.
He added: “The goal of this legislation is to support the national Republican Party’s ability to maintain the majority in the United States Congress.”
“Tennessee is a conservative state, and I submit its congressional delegation should reflect that,” Stevens said earlier Thursday. “The proposed map ensures that. It fully complies with the law. It represents the priorities of the people of Tennessee.”
A House Republican defended it this way, via WPLN:
“This map was drafted based on politics, based on population and the opportunity for the first time in history for us to send an entire Republican delegation from Tennessee to represent the state in Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knox.
Should a map be created based on politics? Or should it be based on the even distribution of the population of the state?
The entire idea behind racial gerrymandering has been to benefit the Democrat Party. I understand that Tennessee is likely a conservative state and that this new map may better reflect the will of the people. But this new redistricting map shouldn’t be drawn to benefit the Republican Party, but rather to represent the will of voters in the state, whatever that may be.
To say this redistricting was done to support getting more Republicans elected, well that sounds like partisan gerrymandering and it gives Democrats a point of protest that seems valid. And they will seize on this and the media will run with it, even though Democrats are guilty of egregious gerrymandering, which is why this entire new redistricting movement is even taking place.
Again, I’m not saying this new map is invalid. But it will sound invalid to many voters simply because of the way Republicans are presenting it. This shouldn’t be a tit-for-tat. It shouldn’t be that Republicans are creating partisan maps just because Democrats did it.
Politically speaking, I think this is the wrong message going into the midterms. But even beyond that, the messaging just doesn’t sit well with me. It just feels wrong.