A modest proposal to neutralize gerrymandering

I missed this when it was published a couple of years ago.

A modest proposal to neutralize gerrymandering

Why do you keep reading Salon Richard? They're crap.

In Washington State voters don't have to register as Democrat or Republican. We can vote for whoever we want in any race. I think that makes a lot more sense than registering, and being stuck with a candidate in one race with whom you disagree just because you want to vote for a particular candidate in a different race. The party labels are largely meaningless anyway, and it's ridiculous to reduce all policy decisions down to a binary choice.

Money. Term limits.

NoCoPilot wrote:

In Washington State voters don't have to register as Democrat or Republican.

That is true in all fifty states, I believe.

NoCoPilot wrote:

We can vote for whoever we want in any race.

Are you talking about primaries? About a third of the states have open primaries, in which your party affiliation (or lack of) does not determine your voting eligibility in the primaries.

NoCoPilot wrote:

The party labels are largely meaningless anyway,...

And it is this very opinion, held mostly by moderates and disgusted liberals, that has allowed the Republicans to win so many elections.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Money.  Term limits.

Yes, there has to be some strict limits on donations and expenditures. There shoudl also be a time limit on the campaign; now the campaigning for the next election begins as soon as the ballots for the last election are counted.

Term limits? I Don't know about this one. I do not think it will make the government any more honest or effective.

Term limits address the same issue as removing gerrymandering: politicians who forget who they're working for because they have a job for life.

I tend to think removal of gerrymandering WITHOUT term limits and campaign finance reform would be counter productive.  If politicians think their positions are insecure they'll campaign full time instead of governing.

The tripartite American government was designed to resist outside influence and despotism.  It is now being wracked by those same forces because of a concerted effort by the radical right.  In order to roll it back we need to return it to its roots, its incorruptible basis of citizen governors, short campaigns, strict term limits and separation of corporate money from the politicians tasked win regulating them.

Hell, they campaign full time now. They probably spend twice the time on money raising as they do on Congressional business.

Section 5 of the Constitution gives each chamber the responsibility to make their own rules. That, I think, should be changed. Amend the Constitution to provide for a non-partisan, non-political committee to write the rules for both houses. Might actually get something done.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Why do you keep reading Salon Richard?  They're crap.

Quite a few of the articles in Salon were originally published elsewhere, and typically when I see that I go and read the original. And sometimes, I'm reading stuff elsewhere and get a reference that I follow and it turns out to point to Salon. That's actually what happened this time: I wasn't reading Salon, but the guy I was reading said there was an article about registering for a party you don't like just to screw with their primaries. And there it was.

The idea of registering with the opposing party so you can screw with their primaries is one that has been bandied about for many years. No one ever took it seriously.

California came up with an idea for dealing with this.

Quote :

The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect January 1, 2011, requires that all candidates for a voter-nominated office be listed on the same ballot. Previously known as partisan offices, voter-nominated offices are state legislative offices, U.S. congressional offices, and state constitutional offices. Only the two candidates receiving the most votes—regardless of party preference—move on to the general election regardless of vote totals.

A longer description of the act can be found here.

But none of this will resolve the major problems with government. The rules governing Congress' proceedings must be changed. The financing of elections must be changed. There must be laws compelling all candidates to be honest. If they lie during a campaign and it is proven, they must be removed from the ballot. If the lie is discovered after they have won and taken office, they must be automatically removed from office and not allowed to every again hold a public position. And gerrymandering must be done away with completely. Before California changed the way districts were drawn, I lived a district that looked something like this:

_Howard wrote:

Are you talking about primaries? About a third of the states have open primaries, in which your party affiliation (or lack of) does not determine your voting eligibility in the primaries.

Your state and mine are two of only three states in the country where party affiliation does not matter for primaries.

I'm not sure that's exactly right, NoCo.
Take a look at this.