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BBC News
Map
redrawing angers US Democrats
October 8, 2004 The increasingly widespread - and
perfectly legal - practice of gerrymandering is having a serious and
lasting effect on American democracy, as the BBC's James Silver
reports from Texas.
The sight of cowboys being abruptly unseated by the bucking
broncos at the rodeo in Mesquite, Texas, must surely strike a chord
with many of the state's Democratic Congressmen.
Thanks to gerrymandering - the redrawing of district boundaries
for partisan advantage - several of them are set to lose their seats
in November.
Using sophisticated computer programmes, political boundaries are
being redrawn across the US to all but guarantee results.
Gerrymandering is quietly, but dramatically, changing the face of
American democracy.
Today, only a handful of Congressional seats are truly
competitive.
Unwinnable district
Simply by redrawing the lines of his district with the click of a
mouse, the Republicans - who hold power in the state of Texas - have
forced Democratic Congressman Jim Turner into a district he knows he
can't possibly win.
That's why, come November, he will be standing down.
"The redistricting lines which were drawn by the Republicans
in Texas were clearly aimed at trying to eliminate as many Democrats
as possible from the state's delegation to Congress," he told
BBC Radio 4.
"I happened to be the member that was targeted most
effectively, because my district was cut into six different pieces
and the part that I live in was put into a district that's been
represented by a Republican congressman for almost 20 years.
"This is a dangerous trend. We know democracy is not
promoted if we end up with partisan politicians selecting their
constituents rather than the other way around."
The term gerrymandering can be traced back to 1812, when
Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry fashioned a district for
political purposes in the shape of a salamander.
It has been part of the political landscape in America ever
since.
Every decade, with the publication of a new census, all US states
are obliged to redraw the boundaries of their congressional
districts.
With a handful of exceptions, the process is carried out by the
party in control of the state legislature.
Deadlock
In Texas, there was deadlock between the parties in 2001 - the
regular year for redistricting - so the job was handed to the
courts.
They drew boundaries which by and large preserved the
congressional majority of the Democrats.
However, when the Republicans gained complete control of the
state of Texas in 2002 - for the first time in 130 years - they took
the unprecedented decision to return to the redistricting table
mid-decade.
Jim Turner may be standing down, but five of the seven Democrats
affected by the new map have decided to fight on.
They include Congressman Martin Frost, who has represented
district 24 of Dallas-Fort Worth for 26 years.
Congressman Frost claimed that the Republicans "were trying
to turn Texas into a one-party state".
But, he continued, the shadow of gerrymandering falls on far more
than just the state of Texas - it falls across national government
too.
"Gerrymandering can be used by one party or the other to
preserve their majority in the House of Representatives long past
the time they have a majority in the country.
"It can also alter the course of legislation which can cause
the Congress to move in a direction which is contrary to majority
sentiment in the country."
Forced out of his own district by the new plan, Mr Frost is now
running in a Republican-leaning district containing far fewer
natural supporters.
Little support, little sympathy
He thinks he can win, but many observers do not share his
confidence. There is little sympathy for him either.
Prior to last year's map redistricting, the most significant
gerrymander in Texas was carried out by the Democrats in 1991.
They carved up the state to favour their side, and the figure at
the helm that year was a certain... Martin Frost.
That's why the 2003 redistricting bill in Texas was widely
perceived to be "payback" for the Republicans.
The man who steered it through the State House was Republican
State Representative Phil King, who lives in the town of
Weatherford, one hour west of Dallas.
With its streets lined with white picket fences, its clipped
lawns and billowing flags, Weatherford is classic conservative,
small-town Texas.
Mr King is a refreshingly straight talker, who places his
Christian faith at the heart of his politics.
Outside his law practice is a sign listing the Ten Commandments.
Republican control
Mr King is blunt about what he set out to do - namely, "to
undo" Martin Frost's 1991 Democrat gerrymander and secure a
majority in the US House of Representatives for the Republicans.
"The redistricting bill was something myself and some other
members had begun to work on several years earlier because we knew
that it was right for Texas," he said.
"We knew that if we could add five to seven seats to the
Republican numbers in Congress it would be virtually impossible for
the Republicans to lose the majority in President Bush's second
term."
Texans, Mr King argued, back the Republican party. In the 2000
election, George W Bush got nearly 60% of the popular vote to Al
Gore's 38%.
"It was very important for me to make sure that our
president from Texas, George Bush, had a Republican House to work
with in his second term.
"We drew a map that probably increased Republican seats from
15 to maybe 22 out of 32 seats in a really good year. It's not what
you'd call a political coup.
But Rob Ritchie, director of the Center For Voting and Democracy,
says that as a consequence of gerrymandering, kicking out incumbent
members of Congress verges on the impossible and competition in
Congressional races has all but vanished.
"One of the stark realities of our politics now is that
fewer than one in ten House races is competitive today," he
said. "That means that almost from the get-go, more than 90% of
races can be safely put in one party's camp.
"In 2002, out of 435 seats, only four incumbents lost to
challengers, the fewest ever in our whole history." |
