The Moose urges the donkey to embrace a much needed reform.
It is high time that Democrats recognize that they are no longer the Washington establishment. They need to embrace the Joplin approach to politics - "freedom's is just another word for nothing left to lose." Start thinking outside the box. After all there is no "easy button" for returning back to power.
One of the reforms the Moose is fond of is non-partisan redistricting. The attack of the Texas DeLayicans is just one example of how the redistricting system has become corrupted. It is an incumbent protection racket that fuels partisan polarization.
Fortunately, there is a move afoot to reform the system. The New York Times reports today,
" The politically charged methods that states use to draw Congressional districts are under attack by citizens groups, state legislators and the governor of California, all of whom are concerned that increasingly sophisticated map-drawing has created a class of entrenched incumbents, stifled electoral competition and caused governmental gridlock.
"Largely uncoordinated campaigns stretching from California to Massachusetts are pushing to end, or at least minimize, a time-honored staple of American politics: lawmakers drawing Congressional and legislative district maps in geographically convoluted ways to ensure the re-election of an incumbent or the dominance of a party."
Of course, the reform could hurt Democrats in some states. So what. It is long overdue and it would position the party in favor of reform and against the entrenched establishment. One of the smartest politicians in America, the Reforminator, Governor Schwarzenegger is promoting the idea in California. While it could benefit Republicans in that state, in other states it could work to their detriment. That is not the point. It is the right thing to do.
The Moose hears that the next DNC Chair claims he is a reformer. Will he aggressively promote this important reform?
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