The Gerrymandalorian
In the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, a lone bounty hunter travels to the far reaches of the galaxy to protect an infant named Grogu (affectionately known by fans as Baby Yoda). The Mandelorians are bound by a set of ethics and conduct, represented by the mantra, “This is the way.” The Gerrymandalorians are a group of elected leaders and voters across several states who are fighting to keep Darth Trump and the Empire from unfairly gerrymandering their way to a Congressional midterm win. The rebels know that gerrymandering, the “practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections,” is a generally unhealthy trend. But using the popular vote to overcome attempts by the Empire to rig the midterms beats just sitting back and letting an election be stolen. So, for now, the rebel alliance will have to live with the mantra, “This is the way, at least until we send the Sith Lord back to Mar-a-Lago.”
+ For the rebels, the war to redraw battle lines was hardly fair. “For more than a decade, they’ve tried to be the party of good government on redistricting. But Democrats’ support for letting independent commissions draw legislative maps has cost them seats in key blue states, and their push to ban gerrymandering nationwide flopped in the courts and in Congress.” Meanwhile, the GOP just needs a willing governor and legislature to redraw maps (as we saw in Texas). But there were two elements the Empire didn’t expect: First, the Force (here, the voting public) would be with the rebels. And second, Vader’s poll numbers would be historically low. Russell Berman in The Atlantic (Gift Article) on how the Republican redistricting effort backfired: Trump’s Enormous Gerrymandering Blunder. “GOP lawmakers had both the will and the power to draw their party new seats, while Democrats were hamstrung by limits of their own making. The question was not whether Republicans could expand their edge in Congress, but by how much. This morning the landscape looks a lot different, after Virginia voters yesterday approved a lopsided new House map that could hand Democrats an additional four seats that Republicans currently hold. The Democratic redistricting victory is the party’s second in a statewide referendum. When combined with new lines that California voters endorsed in November, Democrats have now succeeded in drawing districts that will likely yield them nine more seats this fall, at least matching what Republicans have been able to achieve in states that they control.” Next stop in the gerrymandering wars: The Empire (tries to) strike back in Florida. Or as it will undoubtedly come to be known: The Battle of Florida Man-dalorian.
