Hypocrite is a synonym for politician.
The last few days have proved that to be painfully clear.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been getting a jolly and deserved skewering for the proposed cartographic contortions that he hopes to do to the congressional maps in his state.
At the behest of President Donald Trump, Abbott is trying to ram through a rare mid-decade re-drawing of the electoral districts to favor Republicans and juice the number of Texas GOP representatives in the next Congress.
This is known as redistricting, or gerrymanding named for Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), a Founding Father and the nation’s fifth Vice President, whose salamander-shaped district in Massachusetts purportedly inspired an 18th century cartoonist to coin the term.
The gerrymandering process is a bit like having the players in a game of Monopoly draw the board as they go. For another analogy: imagine trying to slice a birthday cake for a dozen clamoring six-year-olds, all of whom demand the biggest piece plus the frosted flower on top.
Texas Republicans say that they’re simply redrafting the maps to distribute voters more equitably among all the districts. But that also means diluting the minority Democratic voters in a sea of red.
Back in the days of Elbridge Gerry himself, politicians gerrymandered with crude tools: a quill, a map, unabashed ambition, and plausible deniability.
At the behest of President Donald Trump , Abbott is trying to ram through a rare re-drawing of the electoral districts to favor Republicans and juice the number of Texas GOP representatives in the next Congress
This is known as redistricting, or gerrymanding named for Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), a Founding Father and the nation’s fifth Vice President, whose salamander-shaped district in Massachusetts purportedly inspired an 18th century cartoonist to coin the term
In the current age, politicians employ artificial intelligence, demographic modeling, and software to predict who might vote the wrong way and how to water down unwelcome new constituencies even before the ballot is cast.
But whether the maps are being redrawn in graphite, ink, or code, redistricting has always been eyed by civilians as dishonest and shady, political ambition and manipulation at its worst.
In recent years, a few states have contemplated reform to the practice. California, Arizona and Michigan set up ‘nonpartisan’ commissions to draw district maps more fairly, allowing voters a better chance to pick their representatives in an impartial fashion.
It was like switching from vodka shots to green juice: well-intentioned, vaguely healthy, and much less fun. Ultimately, in execution, incumbents of both parties remained protected. But at least the states tried.
Meanwhile, throughout the other 47, the old game lives on— souped-up with GPS coordinates and voter micro-targeting.
And, despite what’s been in the news this week, Republicans are not the sole bad actors.
Yes, they’ve turned states such as Texas and Florida into voter labyrinths that would make M.C. Escher blush. But Democrats, too, have long been sketching some friendly new quadrants.
With control of the House of Representative very much up for grabs in 2026, neither side wants to give up the chance to carve out bigger pieces of the pie, nor allow their foes to fork up larger chunks either.
New York, for example, has gerrymandered its maps not once but twice in the last three years.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and her merry band of legislative elves have continued to reinforce an electoral machine that benefits the state’s majority party, mandating that all election lawsuits be heard in Democrat-friendly counties, and redrawing judicial maps to—surprise!—create more safe seats for Democrats.
Republicans have turned states such as Texas and Florida into voter labyrinths that would make M.C. Escher blush. But Democrats, too, have long been sketching some friendly new quadrants
New York, for example, has gerrymandered its maps not once but twice in the last three years (Pictured: New York Governor Kathy Hochul)
California’s Gavin Newsom is hardly handing out maps drawn by St. Francis of Assisi. The Golden State’s ‘nonpartisan’ redistricting commission has been accused of cozying up to Democratic interests – and now Newsom wants to make a special legislative effort to offset what Texas is up to.
When Democrats do this, liberal leaning media outlets praise their actions as circumspect and savvy. When Republicans do it, it’s constitutional piracy. But the math speaks for itself.
In 2024, Donald Trump won around 32 percent of the vote in Maryland—but Republicans hold exactly one congressional seat out of eight. In Massachusetts, he got over 35 percent—yet every single House member is a Democrat.
Is that democracy? Or political performance art?
The press loves to cast this as a morality play. But this is a story where every character is evil.
Mark Halperin is the editor-in-chief and host of the interactive live video platform 2WAY and the host of the video podcast ‘Next Up’ on the Megyn Kelly network.
And the biggest lie of all? That the other side started it.
But the result is the same: a scorched-earth electoral map, drawn not to reflect the will of the people, but to deny it. And we, the people, are left with crooked lines and crookeder leaders – and a vanishingly small number of districts in which the two parties actually have to compete to win.
Both sides are delivering the same sanctimonious sermon: ‘We’re protecting democracy from the extremists.’
Translation: We’re ensuring our team has a hammerlock on power for the next decade, thank you very much.
It’s a bit like listening to a mobster explain why he’s burning down a rival’s bar ‘for the good of the neighborhood.’
If you believe one party is more virtuous than the other in this blood sport, you might also believe that Las Vegas casinos want you to win.
The truth—deep, dark, and inconvenient— is that gerrymandering is an abuse of power, no matter which animal is on your yard sign.
Don’t be the chump who picks a side.
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