Okay, But Why?
There is so much happening in politics right now, it’s hard to keep up. It feels like every day, there’s a new outrageous headline. But it’s not always clear why these things are happening. So in this series of short shareable podcast episodes, we’re here to ask… “Okay, But Why?”
Red Wine & Blue has produced several limited series podcasts over the past 3 years, including series about immigration, Christian Nationalism, and the cost of extremism. Now, we're bringing you "Okay, But Why."
Okay, But Why?
Okay, But Why Is Gerrymandering Legal?
Gerrymandering is one of those things that makes people tune out of politics. It doesn’t just sound technical and complicated, it feels so far outside our control. But it’s important to understand because we all deserve to have our votes count. Gerrymandering is basically politicians picking their voters, instead of the other way around. And in Texas, Democratic reps like Ann Johnson are standing up for voters.
Both parties have been known to participate in gerrymandering, but over the past few decades, it’s mostly been Republicans manipulating the maps. That’s not political speculation — many Republican leaders have come right out and said so. They even have an official project, named Operation REDMAP, which stands for Republican Redistricting Majority Project. And unfortunately, so far the project has been extremely successful.
You may wonder… how is this even legal?
Racial gerrymandering has been outlawed since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but the Supreme Court keeps ruling that partisan gerrymandering is fine. So what’s happening in Texas, where President Trump asked Republican reps to redraw district lines to favor himself, may be wrong and anti-democratic but it’s not illegal. As Rep. Mitch Little said in an interview, “we’re doing it because we can.”
We’re grateful to Democratic representatives like Ann Johnson who are fighting back against gerrymandering. And we’re very excited that she’ll be joining Red Wine & Blue on Monday to talk about what’s going on in Texas! You can sign up for our Don’t Mess With Texas virtual event here.