GerryDANdering Texas

Democrats who long for honest, no-nonsense government were elated by this month’s election results in Virginia and New Jersey.

Here in Texas, Democrats from all walks of life are putting their work aside, cancelling family vacations, hitting the road, and running for office (many for the first time) because we have had enough of the spin, stunts, deception and downright hateful behavior of the ruling junta.

When we win, the hard work will be ahead of us. Because rather than accept the fact that do-nothing, know-nothing, deceptive politics is failing, the good old boys in Austin will fight to keep the majority of Texans silenced.

Of the many methods they will (try to) use, the most insidious is gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering is the practice state legislatures use to draw congressional districts to ensure the party-in-charge stays that way. It’s been legal for more than a century, and it’s always been a nuisance. However, computing horsepower and big data have turned a nuisance into an existential threat to democracy.

This is not hyperbole. Congressional districts are now drawn with such brutal precision that the party-in-charge not only stays that way, but also, politicians (who owe their jobs to gerrymandering) exhibit the most extreme and radical actions. Without the perceived threat of a Democratic challenger, a Republican that works with Democrats to get things done or has a moderate point of view is of no use to the party and can expect a primary opponent.

Just ask Speaker Joe Straus who blocked Dan Patrick’s bathroom disaster and voucher nonsense. He was effectively purged by the extremist element of the Republican Party. Just ask Representative Sarah Davis what happens when a Republican with a solid reputation reaches across the aisle. Her reward is an entire Republican establishment lining up to throw her out.

Gerrymandering is the reason Texas politics has careened to a radical, ruinous place. We want great schools but we’re never going to have them. We want tax fairness but we’re never going to get it. We want a healthcare system that works but we’re never going to see it. We want a government that reflects our Texas values of compassion and tolerance but we’re never going to have it.

That is, unless Democrats win and then kill gerrymandering once and for all.

And that is exactly why I and so many Texas Democrats are fighting with all we have to win in 2018. If we kill gerrymandering for good, we’ll have a fighting chance at restoring democracy to Texas. And when we restore democracy to Texas, we’ll have a fighting chance at living in a state where our political leaders share our Texas values.

Those of us who have thrown ourselves into this fight don’t care how hard the work is, or how long the odds seem to be. We are fighting with vigor and enthusiasm because we cherish democracy, our great state and the good people in it. When we win, we’ll kill gerrymandering. And in so doing, we’ll make Texas Proud.

Mike

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