Re: Texas redistricting & fairness

[Michael Hoover <HooverM@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>>> mpollak@xxxxxxxxx 12/12/03 10:14AM >>>
>From today's Washington Post:
Judge Patrick Higginbotham, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th
Circuit and one of three federal judges hearing the case, seemed
skeptical
of the Democrats' suggestion that redistricting had ever been a
scrupulously fair undertaking.
He recalled that former Texas governor William P. Hobby, a World War
I-era
Democrat, once likened redistricting to a "religious experience" in
which
majority-party lawmakers (then the Democrats) fell to their hands and
knees over a state map, and drew new congressional districts
boundaries to reward
their friends and punish their enemies.
<<<<<>>>>>

don't recall who said that redistricting is political equivalent of
moving left field fence for a right handed pull hitter (maybe grantland
rice who may have also said 'tell me results you want and i'll draw
district map to do it')...

surprise, surprise, courts (or 2 major parties for that matter) have
adequately addressed integrity of competitive electoral process as
constitutional matter...so-called good-clean gov't/fair election types
correlate competitive and meaningful which, i suppose, has some
validity...of course, choices in competitive contest may/may not
themselves be meaningful...

some evidence suggests that recent redistricting in many states has
been less partisan in terms of party but more so in terms of
incumbency...and some folks like to cite use of computers
in shaping districts as if people controlling machines, their
programming, and their data are non existent...

'reformers' tend to like iowa's 'non-partisan' methods that prohibits
using party identification, prior election outcomes, and info about
incumbents. in drawing new districts...much
of work is done by a legislative districting office...for what it's
worth, iowa does tend to have more competitive legislative elections...

just kidding about grantland rice, keep the x in xmas...  michael
hoover