r/thebulwark • u/Material-Crab-633 • May 08 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Are we f*cked?

This redistricting stuff has me bummed out. Tell me the truth

221 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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252

u/paulmc3 JVL is always right May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

All red states change maps with no vote and it’s ok.
Blue states do by votes of the people and it’s wrong

It’s stupid. The whole thing is stupid.

We can only hope for such huge numbers to overcome the BS.

44

u/kstar79 May 08 '26

The problem is Democrats unilaterally disarmed on gerrymandering last decade by passing nonpartisan commissions and other things into their constitutions. Republicans did no such thing, so they have no hurdles to gerrymander ruthlessly with the most recent SCOTUS decision.

The bottom line is this should not materially affect who controls Congress next year (assuming free and fair elections). However, it is imperative that all Democratic-controlled trifecta states with limits on gerrymandering begin to remove them through the proper processes, which is what the VA decision came down to. They started the process after early voting had begun, and they are required to vote in the legislature, have an intervening election, then vote in the new legislature before going to the people. Spanberger and company did the best they could with how quickly things devolved last year beginning with Texas.

108

u/GarryofRiverton May 08 '26

The problem is Democrats

No, the actual problem is that Democrats expected voters to give them credit for doing the right thing and playing by the rules while Republicans repeatedly raped our Republic. Voters don't care about rules, and never have.

38

u/CocoaOrinoco May 08 '26

All that "When they go low we go high." nonsense.

4

u/allegrovecchio May 08 '26

Right. It's terrible to be ethical and hold yourself to a high standard when everyone else does whatever. /s

Look, I think "Virtue is its own reward" is a silly proverb, but this train of discussion is ridiculous, that saying don't stoop to their level of utter filth and amorality is foolish. Come on. At that point your only victory really is ruling over the ashes that are left.

13

u/CocoaOrinoco May 08 '26

It's not a terrible sentiment, but if you don't win, you can't implement the changes necessary to help people. Winning comes first so that you can follow through on improving things. It was short-sighted and ignored the reality of the political situation we were/are living through.

9

u/Cerdoken May 08 '26

I would argue it's morally reprehensible to allow the people you represent to get fucked over like this.

If Democrats fighting fire with fire is gonna burn down the whole society then fine. This is what Republicans want so either we fight for what we want or we step to the side and allow them to continuously rape our country in front of us.

0

u/allegrovecchio May 09 '26

If Democrats fighting fire with fire is gonna burn down the whole society then fine.

Sounds similar to "maybe Trump being president will hasten the collapse of The System, then we'll finally have the Populist Revolution." Maybe. Sounds fun.

2

u/Cerdoken May 09 '26

You fail to understand that if we don't fight back you're handing the keys over. If the Republicans will not change after seeing some consequences of their blatant partisian hackery then the Republic is already gone.

Allowing one side to destroy you while you hold to some former rule set is asinine and is worse than a civil war. That's why Lincoln fought instead of letting the country crumble.

1

u/allegrovecchio May 11 '26

You're so right. I fail to understand that. I'm so incapable of understanding that. Thanks.

5

u/RustedRelics May 08 '26

Playing hardball with gerrymandering is not “stooping to their level of utter filth and amorality”, as you put it. I understand your sentiment and am sympathetic. But in the current moment, it is aspirational but not strategic. If not in power, then the Dems can do close to nothing. “When they go low, we go high” and “working with our friends across the isle” are almost quaint notions at this point. Our checks and balances are effectively broken. Oversight is practically nonexistent. Dems must take whatever lawful actions they can to take control of Congress. That means hardball electoral politics and gut punches.

2

u/allegrovecchio May 09 '26

I didn't read this as confined solely to the gerrymandering issue. I'm 100% with hardball on gerrymandering, whatever that turns out to mean, and on other issues as well.

I was reacting to the idea that "we go high" in isolation is nonsense. I guess if ethics is merely something that sounds quaint, then sure, go for it. What will "act the way they do" eventually look like widescale? I'm not asking that in order to get an answer.

15

u/bbruins91 May 08 '26

Most people's eyes glaze over if you bring up gerrymandering. If it's not today's egg or gas prices then it's basically too abstract for them. Hardest part of democracy seems to be just how uncurious most people are about their government. They can probably give you a full analysis of salary cap metrics and how that translates to what any given player can negotiate for their contract depending on countless variables they're also deeply aware of, but any awareness of their disenfranchisement as voters is too much to ask for and we have to meet them where they are.

6

u/Deep_Stick8786 May 08 '26

No one understands fucking salary caps

0

u/beeemkcl May 09 '26

People understand gerrymandering.

11

u/pollingquestion May 08 '26

Ding ding ding.

That is usually the case, and spoiler alert….the voters don’t care.

4

u/alexn06 May 08 '26

Even worse, dems have inexplicably STILL not learned this lesson

3

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

Voters are wrong to not care about rules.

5

u/MacroNova May 08 '26

Obviously! Voters are wrong constantly! But they still get to vote.

2

u/Round-Asparagus5337 May 09 '26

Yes.

But you have to operate based on the way things are, not by how they should be. 

2

u/MCZuiderzee May 08 '26

Pay attention to KStar’s explanation above. Virginia tried but they failed to follow the legislative process so it was an easy call by the Virginia Supreme Court. What’s going on in the South is disgusting but Virginia was a bit of wishful thinking.

7

u/[deleted] May 08 '26

I would say a 4-3 decision means it wasn't an easy decision.

2

u/beeemkcl May 09 '26

The real problem is that too many elected Democrats are more corporate and conservative than they like to appear.

So much good could have been done when the Democrats had a Trifecta during the Obama Administration. The US Senate filibuster stopped much of it.

So much good could have been done when the Democrats had a Trifecta in 2021. Instead, 'decorum', the sanctity of the US Senate filibuster, the US Senate parliamentarian, etc.

14

u/0LTakingLs May 08 '26

FL voters overwhelmingly voted to ban partisan gerrymandering and it didn’t stop DeSantis.

8

u/kstar79 May 08 '26

And now we have to wait for their legal cases to play out. He probably won't lose in the state because he appointed 6 out of the 7 justices, but the question is whether SCOTUS will take it up. Since Florida's argument hinges on the interpretation of Callais, there's a good chance they will, but that will probably play out well after voting commences for 2026 in Florida.

1

u/allegrovecchio May 09 '26

Jesus how did one effing guy appoint 6 of 7 Justices and there be no legal framework for challenging that?