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(Some Guy)   The Voting Rights Act is really The Incumbent Protection Act   (opinionjournal.com) divider line
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    More: Obvious  
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1605 clicks; posted to Politics » on 12 Jun 2006 at 2:43 PM (16 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



30 Comments     (+0 »)
 
MasterThief
2006-06-12 11:55:48 AM  
Cue the cries of "racist!" in 3...2...1...

/or the little black kid pic
 
Mr. Coffee Nerves [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2006-06-12 12:13:33 PM  
Does anyone really think that elected officials would willingly vote for ANY legislation to make it easier for new candidates to run and unseat incumbents?
 
Quick1
2006-06-12 1:11:34 PM  
If we had instant runoff voting and districts that were more or less square (or even better, determined by computer), we might still have a chance to save this Democracy.
 
st_gulik
2006-06-12 1:19:39 PM  
Quick1: If we had instant runoff voting and districts that were more or less square (or even better, determined by computer), we might still have a chance to save this Democracy.

It's why the re-districting needs to be taken out of the hands of those who directly benefit from their gerrymandering.
 
Sloth_DC
2006-06-12 1:22:43 PM  
Quick1: If we had instant runoff voting and districts that were more or less square (or even better, determined by computer), we might still have a chance to save this Democracy.

Which kinda ignores the fact that, well, we're not a Democracy.
 
ComicBookGuy
2006-06-12 1:26:18 PM  
Sloth_DC

"Which kinda ignores the fact that, well, we're not a Democracy."

Corporate, plutocratic aristocracy? That seems a bit more accurate.
 
FarkmeBlind
2006-06-12 1:39:07 PM  
st_gulik: It's why the re-districting needs to be taken out of the hands of those who directly benefit from their gerrymandering.

Sloth_DC: Which kinda ignores the fact that, well, we're not a Democracy.

Double the truth, double the fun.
 
Sloth_DC
2006-06-12 1:39:28 PM  
I was going for Constitutional Republic...

That Reign of Terror thing in France? That was a Democracy.
 
Abagadro
2006-06-12 1:49:49 PM  
The US is a representative democracy organized into a federal republic.


/hates the stupid "we aren't a democracy" nonsense.
 
Sloth_DC
2006-06-12 1:52:50 PM  
Abagadro: /hates the stupid "we aren't a democracy" nonsense.

There is a higher authority than the will of the people. That makes us not a Democracy :)
 
Abagadro
2006-06-12 1:53:50 PM  
There is a higher authority than the will of the people. That makes us not a Democracy :)


Nope. That makes us a Liberal Democracy. There are different kinds you know.
 
RocketRod
2006-06-12 2:00:28 PM  
Well, I'm gonna vote for Gerry Mandering.
 
Sloth_DC
2006-06-12 2:02:07 PM  
Abagadro: Nope. That makes us a Liberal Democracy.

OK, I'll buy that - damn hippies, constantly inventing new words :)
 
Abagadro
2006-06-12 2:03:09 PM  
Just to expand, "republic" is generally considered a government that is not a hereditary monarchy and governs by the "will of the people." "Democracy" is the mechanism by which that will is transmitted and implemented (direct or representative, etc.) "Liberal" means that this implementation is restrained by the rule of law, most often embodied in a constitution. So the US is a federal republic that operates through represeative democracy in the context of a liberal democracy. We are definitely a democracy.

Anyways, that is a off topic. That editorial didn't seem to implicate the Voting Right Act as much as district manipulation.
 
Abagadro
2006-06-12 2:03:48 PM  
OK, I'll buy that - damn hippies, constantly inventing new words :)

What else is there to do when you are baked?
 
Sloth_DC
2006-06-12 2:15:58 PM  
Abagadro: What else is there to do when you are baked?

Watch Reefer Madness? Have sex? Ponder the philosophical implications of the topography of a Dorito?

Just to expand, "republic" is generally considered a government that is not a hereditary monarchy and governs by the "will of the people." "Democracy" is the mechanism by which that will is transmitted and implemented (direct or representative, etc.)

I was more focusing on "Constitutional" than Republic, being that it is the Constitution which trumps the will of the people. (Straight) Democracies are freakin' dangerous, ill-controlled beasts.
 
William 'Fat Tony' Williams
2006-06-12 3:11:15 PM  
[image from zipcodemaps.com too old to be available]

this should be our electoral district map. zip codes.
 
Theobold Holsopple
2006-06-12 3:13:53 PM  
Ponder the philosophical implications of the topography of a Dorito?

[image from moblog.co.uk too old to be available]

[image from blogs.salon.com too old to be available]

Dude, it's like I'm about to eat an entire legislatively produced and protected constituency.
 
Gulper Eel
2006-06-12 3:24:46 PM  
Quick1: If we had instant runoff voting and districts that were more or less square (or even better, determined by computer), we might still have a chance to save this Democracy.

The districts are already determined by computer right now - this is what enables the bosses to go through detailed voting records and draw up districts that look like a condor pooped on your car.
 
buildingseven
2006-06-12 3:29:23 PM  
ok, so 90% of incumbents win, and in 90% of the races without incumbents the candidate that spends the most money wins, and... oh, wait, there are no real issues debated or discussed, it's just a subsidized high-school popularity contest with the winner choosing the size of the dildo with which he/she will fark most of his/her constituents in the ass for the benefit of his/her corporate sponsors. no actual ideology or beliefs required! just a pretty smile, a fat wallet and a good christian background. oh, and less than 40% of the eligable population votes because they know that what the people think or need doesn't enter into the equation whatsoever.
ain't "democracy" great?
 
haplo53
2006-06-12 3:36:45 PM  
you would think "incumbent protection" is something the WSJ editorial page would want, considering who is in power now.
 
Sensei Can You See [TotalFark]
2006-06-12 4:21:51 PM  
haplo53: you would think "incumbent protection" is something the WSJ editorial page would want, considering who is in power now.

Maybe them ol' stereotypes aren't as cut and dried as you think.
 
Aexia
2006-06-12 4:29:37 PM  
If you want to see how redistricting should be done, look no further than Washington State.

None of the districts look like electoral diarrhea and most of them are competitive.
 
Theobold Holsopple
2006-06-12 4:43:50 PM  
GIS: Your search - condor poop - did not match any documents.
 
inglixthemad
2006-06-12 4:57:49 PM  
A) Technically we're a "Democractically Elected, Representative Government" if I remember my professor right.

B) When Democrats are in control, they also try to divvy up these minority voting areas, albeit somewhat differently. Their goal is to maintain enough of a core black population in certain seats to satisfy the Section 5 requirement. But Democrats also want to spread enough other black voters around predominantly white neighborhoods in hopes that white liberals can also continue to get elected.

Now there's a big cry. Spread the blacks out to white neighborhoods (thus integrating the vote) is bad. There is no easy human way to fix this as politicians are in the business of keeping themselves in office.

One has to wonder though; Why is integrating black and white voters together bad?
 
Tubercular Ox
2006-06-12 5:12:30 PM  
inglixthemad: Why is integrating black and white voters together bad?

Well, first you have to believe that Blacks and Whites have nothing in common and can never agree on a political choice. Y'know, identity politics.

Once you've bought that, it becomes you have X blacks. You can put them all in one district that's 100% Black and let them argue about the best Black for the job of representing them (Since no one White can possibly represent them.)

Or, you can split them into two districts that are, say, 60% black each, and then they will vote for the Black incumbents over the White challengers. And the Black incumbents will win.

Or, you can split them into three districts that are 40% Black each, and then they will struggle in vain to oust the White incumbents, and never be represented, but luckily the Voting Rights Act made that illegal.
 
Gosling
2006-06-12 5:26:09 PM  
I bring this up every gerrymandering thread: Abolish the districts, use the states themselves, and go proportional representation. (You rank candidates within a party in the primary in some form- I go with giving points to your favorites- then you rank parties in the general. Parties get seated proportionally based on their point total.)
 
orrinbloquy
2006-06-12 6:38:46 PM  
1. Third parties deserve as much of a chance to embarrass themselves into a new cliche as the existing ones.

2. The electoral system makes perfect sense to people who think their being a minority shouldn't make a difference as to whether their voice is heard in government. When asked about their support of the nuclear option against filibusters, the same people suddenly grow amnesiac.

3. Note to politicians who call themselves Democrats: Negroes and Latinos are not Yu-Gi-Oh cards and collecting them does not make you more powerful.

4. Note to politicians who call themselves Republicans: if you're so goddamn sure everybody agrees with you, push for verified trail voting run by disinterested parties, not corporate sleazewhores who work for your campaigns. Everybody *WANTS* to vote Republican, right?

5. People who use "demopublican/republicrat" on web forums: you're just sheeple. See? Sounds stupid, doesn't it? "Yeah, they're all the same, makes me feel more intelligent just sayin' it, pass the bong this way Earl."
 
BMFPitt
2006-06-12 8:17:51 PM  
Article also doesn't mention the fact that a bunch of areas are alled out by name in the legislation, and have far different racial makeups than they did 40 years ago. It's sort of like the NFL giving out next year's draft positions based on 1966 standings.
 
dfenstrate
2006-06-12 11:31:01 PM  
The Mccain-Fiengold act is also a huge 'incumbant protection act.'

The defender in any contest always has an advantage. By sharply limiting criticism and fund-raising, congress has made it easier for the current holder of any seat to keep those seats.
 
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