Fair Game

 To the victors…

The recent decision by the four liberal members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule that the redistricting maps drawn by the State Legislature fails on its face. The municipal “islands” that were found to be acceptable by three of the liberal justices in 2020, somehow became unacceptable to those same Justices as they effectively overruled themselves. The Wisconsin State Constitution gives authority to the Legislature to redraw the legislative maps after the United States census is completed each decade. This authority falls to the majority elected by the citizens of Wisconsin. Each member of the State Assembly and Senate is elected by the citizens of their District.

In 2001, Democrats held an 18-15 majority in the State Senate and Republicans held a 54-45 majority in the Assembly. Legislative maps were crafted by the divided legislature and signed by Republican Governor Tommy Thompson. After the 2010 census, the Republicans were elected to majorities in both houses and Governor. For the first time, Republicans were given the authority to redraw legislative districts and have them approved by a Republican Governor. Of course, Democrats claimed that the Republicans gerrymandered to their advantage. The crafters of our State’s Constitution were intentional in their decision to rest the power of redrawing legislative district lines by the Legislature. The people’s mandate in electing the majority party was to be rewarded and their will accomplished when their chosen legislators are given “the keys to the car.” There is no such thing as “fair maps” that are equally divided by political affiliation, nor was it ever intended to be. Whichever party controls the redrawing, the other party cries foul! “They are creating maps that benefit themselves.” No kidding. If you want more authority, convince more people to vote for you. To the victors go the spoils.

Wisconsin State law has two criteria for redrawing legislative maps; They must be of substantially equal population and not discriminate based on race. Traditional redistricting principles, however, have been used by numerous states. Wisconsin uses three; District boundaries be as compact as practical, contiguous and preserve political subdivisions. Compactness and contiguity are self-explanatory. Political subdivisions are not defined as communities that tend to vote for one political party, as the Court implies. From the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau report on redistricting in Wisconsin 2020;

 “Respecting the unity of political subdivisions means drawing district boundaries in such a way as to avoid crossing existing political boundaries. This principle both simplifies the administration of elections and helps to clearly identify for voters the specific district in which they live. In many ways this principle goes hand in hand with the effort to preserve communities of interest. However, strictly adhering to the boundaries of political subdivisions in a redistricting plan often makes it more difficult to satisfy equal population requirements. Consequently, this principle, while by no means obsolete, was followed much more meticulously in Wisconsin, and elsewhere, before the advent of one person, one vote.

In Wisconsin, assembly districts must “be bounded by county, precinct, town or ward lines.” Additionally, county supervisory districts must generally consist of whole wards or municipalities, city aldermanic districts must consist of whole wards, and wards may not cross municipal or county lines.

Notice that political party preference is not a traditional redistricting principle. Some States use the “competitive” principle to not advantage one political party by creating “safe” districts for either party. Another principle is to not create boundaries that move incumbents into the same district, as did the map presented by Governor Evers. Neither of these traditional redistricting principles are used in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Legislature is the sole authority to redraw legislative maps and the Governor has the authority to veto any map deemed unsatisfactory. If vetoed, the Legislature needs to either override the veto or redraw maps that the Governor will approve. The Wisconsin State Supreme Court is usurping the Constitutional authority of the legislature to redraw the maps, especially if those maps were the same maps previously upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court just over a year ago. We, the people, are being denied by a body that is usurping the authority of our elected representatives. The decision by the four liberal Justices to discard the previously approved maps is a threat to democracy and irrevocably harms the citizens of this great State. The Legislature enacts laws, and the Supreme Court rules on those laws’ constitutionality. They do not have the authority to remake laws to their liking.

Leftward Ho!

 

We have a common adversary.

Apparently, much confusion reigns within the party of identity politics. You would think that when the collective pigeon holes each individual into distinctive blocs, they would understand the distinguishing traits each individual group possesses. Take what constitutes the Left for instance. The Left does not espouse the values inherent in those who identify as liberal. The Left does not share the values of the Democrat party. The Left looks to replace free enterprise with socialism. The Left is antithetic to the Constitution of the United States. The majority of those who belong to the party of John Kennedy and/or embrace liberalism, leftism is as far from their values as are those embraced by the extreme right. In fact, leftism has much more in common with the extreme right than anything that Democrats believe in and cherish. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Democrat party is embracing the ideals of Leftism, apparently convinced that it is a winning strategy. What exactly are the tenets of leftism?

On America – the US is an inherently, systemically racist country founded illegitimately by slave owners. Equality of opportunity needs to be replaced with equitable outcomes.

On borders – open borders with unlimited immigration, particularly to persons of color in order to increase the minority population.

On race – a return to segregation, dividing by race. Universities have established black only dormitories and graduations. Soon to return, black only and white only drinking fountains. In Critical Race Theory, persons of color are considered oppressed by a system that unfairly rewards whites.

On gender – there is an infinite number of genders and children should be able to make their own decisions on their chosen gender, including beginning medical treatments to transition to another gender, without parental notification. Men that identify as female can participate in women’s sports. What is your chosen pronoun?

On free speech – any speech considered inappropriate to the tenets of Leftism are to be considered hate speech and to be shouted down and suppressed. There is no longer a free exchange of ideas or any debate allowed on college campuses.

On capitalism and the free market – capitalism must be destroyed and replaced with socialism, which is actually a guiding principle of the Black Lives Matter movement.

On religion – all must kneel at the altar of the State. Religion is to be banned.

If you happen to embrace these ideals, you may just be a Leftist. If you do not, it is time to wake up!

If more of the members of the Democrat party realized the direction that their party is headed, they would reject it and advocate for change in their leadership. Conservatives and Republicans are not the enemy. Both Democrats/liberals and Republicans/conservatives should have the same common goal, facilitating the means to improve the lives of those they represent. Our differences have always been about the methods and direction taken to achieve those goals. One party favors more government intervention and one party prefers giving citizens the means to forge their own path. We used to end up in the same place, reaching common ground and compromising when necessary. This is becoming increasingly rare, as the parties engage in more finger pointing than actual real debate.

Another issue accelerating division in our nation is the instant gratification our evolving society affords. Social media drives opinions with censorship, misinformation and down and out falsehoods. It has become increasingly difficult to find the truth. It has become all too easy to simply consume that which upholds one’s opinion, siloed within group-think, and ignore anything that could potentially invalidate one’s chosen opinion. If we disagree, so be it. Let’s work to resolve our differences. The Left should be our shared enemy, not each other. As Democrats/liberals and Republicans/conservatives we need to unite to fight the Left, as it’s stated goal is to fundamentally transform this nation into something it was never intended to be. America has its’ warts and blemishes. Even with all of our successes, we have failed our citizens far too often. But, we are all Americans. We all share the same common ground. We need to work together to protect our country from those who would destroy it and to keep our nation as that shining beacon on a hill.