Republicans Challenge Re-Districting Rules That Hurt Them

Gerrymander That Helps Them, That’s Just Fine

California has attempted to solve the partisan problems with designing Congressional districts by having it done by an independent commission.  The results are in, and here is the reaction of outraged Republicans.

Former Rep. George Radanovich (R) and four other individuals filed a lawsuit with the California Supreme Court on Thursday challenging the new Congressional district lines adopted by the state’s independent redistricting commission.



California Republican Reacting to
Loss of Congressional Seat from
Independent Re-Districting



The basis for their lawsuit

Radanovich said the commission drew “districts so politically driven that they violate our California Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.”

Now California has had problems with Gerrymandering, like every other state that allows partisan politics to dominate the process.  The move to a non-partisan commission is supposedly to have fixed this, and probably has, much to the ire of Republicans who think they deserve special attention.  But Republicans say they are not involved

Representing the Radanovich group is attorney Steve Baric, who is vice chairman of the California GOP, though the party says it’s not officially involved in the lawsuit.

Gosh, what a coincidence.  Of course the real reason the Republicans are unhappy

Republicans are assured of losing seats under the map put in place by the state’s new commission, which replaced the partisan mapmaking process that had secured incumbent safety in decades past.

Now to be sure this is not a Republican issue per se, Democrats do the same thing when they have the power to do so (see Illinois for example).  One difference though, Republicans seem to whine more about it when things go against them.  And in North Carolina, a state that is roughly 50-50 Republican/Democratic the Republicans have conspired to create Congressional Districts that will give them a 10 to 3 edge in Congressional representation.  In no way do they see that as the violation of anything.