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Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

delaney.house.gov

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Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#71

Post by dllthomas »

ouid wrote: post #61
Aloha wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is the design flawed? We have house that is proportional representation, another that is fixed representation - theoretically the Senate is supposed to represent the interests of each state (which is why they used to be appointed by the Governor of that state) and the House is supposed to represent the people of the nation. Is this a bad idea?

People are the only ingredients of states. You don't add water or eggs. The state is equal to the formal sum of its people. Giving states with unequal populations equal representation is equivalent to giving its people disproportionate representation, which is a stupid idea.

One square mile, one vote!

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#73

Post by mozumder »

mburns wrote: post #47
mozumder wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Works for me, we absolutely need a new constitution. The current one obviously is completely failed (an entire industrial-scale Civil War? REALLY?!) Too bad we need 3/4 states to nullify the current constitution before we can establish a new one via another constitutional convention.

Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. How is starting from scratch preferable to passing 3 or 4 amendments in the current system to address the largest issues we've struggled to fix over the decades?

Because you need a lot more than three or four amendments, each of which might not be ratified. It would be a lot easier to start from scratch.

If you look at the list of lies told by trump, you'll find that they each need amendments to fix, not just laws passed, since it laws are only as good as a president that enforces them.

the entire structure of government can change. There isn't an oversight branch that enforces checks and balances, for example.

A parliamentary system is more useful.

Nationalism needs to be curtailed.

Services need to be redefined for the modern era.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#74

Post by dllthomas »

chongli wrote: post #42
mobilefriendly wrote: post #20

This is hilarious because Delaney was first elected in a gerrymandered district created specifically for him, the state legislature literally looped in his house by two blocks. http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/cct-arc-acca0c6c-9aa4-5159... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Delaney_(Maryland_politic...

Tu quoque . [0] One of the most powerful fallacies in politics. Shuts down countless reform attempts. Loved by the corrupt. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque

Shouldn't discredit him, but doesn't make it not funny.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#75

Post by rayiner »

This is my election district: http://imgur.com/a/C1UmB. It's in the dictionary next to "illegal gerrymandering." The southwest lobe near D.C. is predominantly African American, while the northeast lobe near Annapolis is predominantly Caucasian. Though I can't figure out who is being disenfranchised.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#76

Post by heurist »

notadoc wrote: post #58

Surely guaranteed to go nowhere.

Solid start though. Even if the redistricting measure was dropped, a federal holiday for election day and top-two primaries would clear out a lot of the clogs in our election systems. I'm not sure the top-two measure is constitutional though.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#77

Post by CalChris »

Aloha wrote: post #52
ouid wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're misunderstanding, I think. It's not that it isn't by design. It's that the design principle is stupid.

Why is the design flawed? We have house that is proportional representation, another that is fixed representation - theoretically the Senate is supposed to represent the interests of each state (which is why they used to be appointed by the Governor of that state) and the House is supposed to represent the people of the nation. Is this a bad idea?

Senators were chosen by the Legislature thereof.

It's not so much a bad idea as it is completely inaccurate.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#78

Post by nostrademons »

chongli wrote: post #42
mobilefriendly wrote: post #20

This is hilarious because Delaney was first elected in a gerrymandered district created specifically for him, the state legislature literally looped in his house by two blocks. http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/cct-arc-acca0c6c-9aa4-5159... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Delaney_(Maryland_politic...

Tu quoque . [0] One of the most powerful fallacies in politics. Shuts down countless reform attempts. Loved by the corrupt. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque

I'm not sure it's that effective these days. The American electorate just seems to expect that its leaders will be hypocrites and rewards them for it.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#79

Post by nindalf »

blurbleblurble wrote: post #51

I'm reading a lot of resignation, and I feel it too. Why is it than when SOPA came out or when health care is on the line, people rally super hard, but when election reform is out, there's almost no effort? Why can't we get passionate about this too?

I think because there are relatively simple solutions to both the problems you mentioned

* SOPA - don't pass the bill.

* Health care - spend more, if necessary increase the deficit and we'll figure out the problem later through increased taxes or reduced spending elsewhere.

With electoral reform, it's hard to know what the right thing to do is. Everyone wants to stop gerrymandering but what's the alternative? An algorithm based on population and population density? That has its own set of issues. Heck, it's not straightforward even figuring out if a particular district has been gerrymandered or not. And in some cases, such gerrymandering is considered desirable - such as when it creates district where minorities are the majority.

When the problem is hard to define, hard to explain tangibly, hard to provide solutions for, it's no wonder that people don't get motivated to solve it.

Re: Delaney Introduces Bill to End Gerrymandering, Reform Elections

#80

Post by Retra »

dllthomas wrote: post #74
chongli wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tu quoque . [0] One of the most powerful fallacies in politics. Shuts down countless reform attempts. Loved by the corrupt. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque

Shouldn't discredit him, but doesn't make it not funny.

I would say it wasn't funny regardless, but I suppose that's a different matter.
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