Gerrymandering: When Voters Pick Their Politicians... Not Vice Versa
According to the AP, Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn lost a special election in a district 'all but certain' for the GOP, courtesy of Nashville's unified Democratic stronghold getting split into three Republican-leaning districts. This, they claim, illustrates the 'power of manipulative mapmaking.' What's conveniently left out is how this 'manipulative mapmaking' is a bipartisan sport. Remember
when Democrats in Maryland gerrymandered their state into a grotesque 7-1 split? Or New York Democrats attempting to solidify their power post-2020? This isn't just a Republican 'Trump push' as the AP suggests; it's a systemic attack on representative democracy employed by whoever holds the pen at redistricting time. So, the 'power of partisan gerrymandering' isn't news; it's practically an
electoral strategy. The real scandal is the media's selective outrage, framing it as a uniquely Republican problem when, historically, both major parties have engaged in similar tactics to ensure their preferred candidates win regardless of the popular vote. How many times must the 'will of the voters' be surgically removed from the ballot box before we admit the system isn't broken—it's working
exactly as designed for those in charge?