It is very fitting that we would be having this conversation of Groundhog Day (Groundhog’s Day if you’re from my neck of the woods).
If I had a nickel for every time we talked about equal populations in a district, or contiguity of districts, or compactness of districts, I’d probably be able to retire at this point. Well, that might be a bit hyperbolic, but I probably would’ve made about 4 or 5 bucks by now, which is still pretty impressive, all things considered.
As far as I’m concerned, some level of state wide gerrymandering in any process involving humans is inevitable. The hope is that it’s done in a way that both sides of the political spectrum have a chance to make strides every election.
I would argue (and I have it on pretty good authority that I’m not alone) that that has not been the case for our state in over a decade. Recent analysis shows that Republicans have had as much as a 16.3 point advantage over their Democrat counterparts.
In a 50/50 state, I don’t think I need to go into detail about how that might be perceived as problematic.
At the beginning of the new maps process that started shortly after Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz was seated, 7 maps were being considered (5 Dem, 2 Rep). As a result of the recommendation from 2 court appointed consultants, we are now down to 4 options, all of which have been proposed by Democrats.
Should people be shocked by this? No they should not.
Are people feigning outrage as a result of this? Yes they are.
I reached out to Founder of the Recombobulation area, Dan Shafer, to get the perspective of someone who has been a full time journalist in this state for the entirety of the most recent gerrymander.
He gave his insights into the issues with the Conservative maps, the complaints about the Liberal maps, and why he thinks this was necessary to push the state forward.
Check out the Recombobulation Area here
To listen to our conversation, click the player at the top of the article.
[Spreaker: Outside the Box with Ben Cominos, wpr.com, Wisconsinexaminer.com, therecombobulationarea.news]
