If you follow politics long enough, you start to notice patterns in how the different parties operate. Because America's mainstream journalistic outlets are so decisively left-wing, Republicans typically have to shift their strategies, and there are very few talking points they can return to over and over to generate good press.
Democrats, on the other hand, can repeatedly run the same play, knowing they'll receive fawning coverage, and one of their favorite gambits is pretending that partisan institutions are "independent." It gives them an air of credibility they don't deserve, while they garner the power they sought all along.
Enter California's "independent" redistricting commission, which has been touted by Democrats and the press alike as absolute proof that the blue state's congressional lines are fair and balanced. As the claim goes, how could they be gerrymandered when there are a bunch of non-partisan committee members involved instead of the state legislator?
SEE: Unpacking Newsom's Plan to Steal California Congressional Seats
Never mind that California's current map includes bangers like this.
Those ridiculous districts are called "vote sinks," and they exist to ensure Republicans hold as few seats as possible. Sure enough, the GOP only holds nine of the state's 52 congressional districts despite winning 40 percent of the vote.
Because of Texas' recent push to redistrict (Democrats currently hold a far higher percentage of seats to votes in the red state than Republicans do in California), and Gov. Gavin Newsom's threat to further gerrymander his own state in response, that "independent" redistricting commission has suddenly reentered the spotlight. But who exactly makes up its members? The simple answer is that it's people like this.
After I made that post, the former editor of the disgraced polling-aggregate site, FiveThirtyEight, chimed in to "correct me." You see, while the woman in that video is a Democrat member of the commission, there are also five Republicans and four independents.
Clearly, I am thoroughly and completely owned. Or am I?
Who exactly are the "Republicans" and "independents" on California's redistricting commission that supposedly make it a bastion of non-partisan fairness, completely incapable of drawing an unfair, gerrymandered map? Let's look at some of those who were selected in 2020.
The preeminent example on the Republican side is Jane Andersen. Andersen resides in Berkeley, one of the most progressive cities in the country; only 2.9% of Berkeley voters are registered Republicans and Jill Stein received more votes there than Donald Trump did. Of course, living in a heavily Democratic area doesn’t preclude Andersen from being a Republican. However, her application offers nothing but red flags to the CA GOP.
Her application indicates an idiosyncratic bent within the party: she has donated to NARAL and Planned Parenthood, as well as the World Wildlife Fund and Environmental Defense Fund. This is far more characteristic of a liberal Berkeley resident than a Republican. Her recommendations follow a similar pattern, lauding her commitment to diversity and inclusion, and while these are absolutely worthy traits for any nominee to a redistricting commission, they represent a far more liberal bent than one would expect from a Republican.
Jane Anderson is a "Republican" from the most left-wing part of the state and donated to ActBlue, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL. Does that sound like someone who is going to represent the GOP's interests in redistricting? Or does it sound like a falsely labeled rubber stamp?
The "independents" are no better.
California appears to have a similar story, as both commissioners that are unaffiliated with a political party appear to lean to the left politically. Isra Ahmad is employed in the Division of Equity & Social Justice (DESJ) in Santa Clara County and cited her protests against President Trump’s controversial Muslim ban in her application.
Antonio Le Mons, the other unaffiliated commissioner, also appears to have a decisive lean to the left. Le Mons is an LGBT rights advocate and his Facebook page likes indicate support for Bernie Sanders; Le Mons follows Sanders as well as The Digital Left, a pro-Sanders organization, and has posted about his support for Sanders several times.
Nothing says independent and middle-of-the-road like voting for Bernie Sanders and being a DEI official. But Rakich would have you believe the commission is perfectly balanced because he's a dishonest hack playing the same game Democrats always play when it comes to their "independent" institutions. There's a reason FiveThirtyEight crashed and burned. It rigged its election model in the 2024 election, changing its algorithm dramatically to favor Kamala Harris after Joe Biden dropped out.
Oh, and you may be wondering at this point who appoints the people on California's redistricting commission. That would be the state auditor who is, you guessed it, a Democrat.
But the scam doesn't stop with just who is on the committee. Part of the process is having different groups of supposed diverse representation lobby in testimony. Surprise, that's rigged to.
When they appeared before thecommission, those groups identified themselves as ordinary Californians and didnot disclose their ties to the party. One woman who purported to represent the Asiancommunity of the San Gabriel Valley was actually a lobbyist who grew up inrural Idaho, and lives in Sacramento.
In one instance, partyoperatives invented a local group to advocate for the Democrats’ map.
California’s Democratic representativesgot much of what they wanted from the 2010 redistricting cycle, especially inthe northern part of the state. “Every member of the Northern CaliforniaDemocratic Caucus has a ticket back to DC,” said one enthusiastic memo writtenas the process was winding down. “This is a huge accomplishment that should becelebrated by advocates throughout the region.”
So yeah, spare me the "corrections" about Newsom's pet redistricting commission. We all know what it is, and anyone who tries to suggest otherwise loses all credibility to speak on the matter.
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