TX Redistricting Has Been By Good Ol’ Boys, For Good Ol’ Boys

Texas’ inability to design decent redistricting plans for the two chambers that are supposed to represent the people is more than disappointing — it’s appalling, disgusting, hypocritical, and distasteful. It is disappointing because I’m an idealist. I want to think that those individuals who serve in our governments would want to place at the foremost of what they do the voices and wishes of the people. Yes, public servants are responsible for running the government. Yes, public servants are responsible for insuring the public trust.

But, public servants are just that — public! They are supposed to do the will of the people.

One of the principle ways of doing the will of the people is to ensure that the congressional and house districts used to elect their representatives are designed to allow them to elect individuals who will represent them. What has crept into the redistricting process instead are a bunch of politicians intent on drawing districts that will elect individuals just like themselves.

The late, great Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez once told me: the problem with our form of government is that it is very susceptible to being taken over by a bunch of demagogues or individuals set on pursuing their own narrow interests and totally disregarding the interests of the people. One way of doing that is to rig the redistricting process so that the people have little chance of electing candidates of their choice.

This is what has happened in the current round of redistricting and this is exactly what is being uncovered in the District Court in Washington in Texas v. U.S.A. The attorneys of MALDEF are peeling the Texas redistricting process back layer by layer for the federal judiciary, and what is being uncovered is embarrassing. If you think Gov. Rick Perry embarrassed the state, you ought to see what the state attorney general’s minions have done.

The evidence so far as revealed that the map drawers, the work done by technicians directed by attorneys, intentionally created districts by manipulating the Latino population in such a way as to create districts that were a majority Hispanic but that had very low voter turnout. The redistricters did this to the new Congressional District 23 by hunting and pecking and looking for precincts that resulted in a district that even Canseco couldn’t win. That’s right, they didn’t just want Latino Democrats to not have a chance — they didn’t want any Latino to have a chance at getting elected.

This strategy was revealed in a series of emails that date the strategy to before the legislative session began. The operatives actually constructed a “metric” that allowed them to go across the entire state to construct these discriminatory districts. I think ultimately the court is going to make Texas redistrict all over again after the forthcoming elections.

Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I disgusted? Yes. And so should you be, because if these districts are allowed to stand, then we will continue to get government not of, by and for the people — but government of, by, and for a few good ol’ boys!