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 Thus, like clockwork, the process of redistricting
begins as state legislators initiate a frantic effort to preserve
their domain and, in effect, make it bulletproof so as to head off
any potential challengers. This is certainly not a situation where
less is more. How is it that we have allowed our citizen democracy
to sink to this level?
Writing in Federalist # 51, James Madison cautioned that “a power
independent of the society may as well espouse the unjust views of
the major, as the rightful interests, of the minor party,” and he
saw this as one of the potential weaknesses of the checks and
balances built into the American constitutional system. It is
unfortunate that Madison’s great concern has come to fruition in the
process of redistricting. We have permitted a system to take effect
in which the politicians have the constitutional right to select
their voters. This has, in effect, created the conveyor belt of
incumbency that produces the most absurd of notions—the career
politician. In effect, our current system gives voters much less of
a choice in selecting their representatives.
 I support the idea of having legislative and congressional district
maps developed by an independent commission that is absolutely free
of partisan influence. The principle of rationality must be employed
in the creation of these maps to determine most accurately where the
lines must ultimately be drawn. This kind of Solomon-like wisdom
does not come naturally to the political class—of either party—so we
must rely upon the judicious temperament of independent-minded
individuals to sort through the demographic data and make the best
choices.
The notion of having legislative and congressional district
boundaries determined by an independent commission should not be
construed as anything that will undermine the power and the
influence of the voting public. Certain safeguards can be put in
place to protect the rights that racial and ethnic minorities are
guaranteed under the Voting Rights Act. In addition, the districts
drawn should reflect the common interests of the residents included
and should honor geographic boundaries rather than simply dividing a
neighborhood down the middle of a street. [to
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 The gerrymandered districts that exist currently
have been tremendously effective in preserving the status quo, and
where has that gotten us? Voters are periodically roused with the
“throw the bums out” mentality, but this does not always lead to
effective change because collectively we seem to have a short
attention span in such matters. Maybe 2016 will be different—time
will tell.
The independent maps approach is a true good government reform that
can hopefully produce government that is more effective than our
current system. In a true citizen democracy we should not consider a
legislative district to be a personal fiefdom to be maintained by
the political class. The People are sovereign within our system, and
the People are relatively independent-minded when it comes to
understanding what is right from what is just plain wrong. We
deserve the right to a system that can help make our government
better. Our goal for the past 229 years has been “to form a more
perfect Union,” and the independent maps proposal can help us to
achieve that end. [Text from file received] Past related
articles
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