Liberal Arts Blog — Fraud Alert — The Math of Democracy in America
Liberal Arts Blog — Monday is the Joy of Math, Statistics, Shapes, and Numbers Day
Today’s topic: Fraud Alert — The Math of Democracy in America
We are taught that we are a democracy. In a democracy we choose our leaders. Or do we? Is it really the other way around? What’s the math? If you don’t know the math you are just another patsy at the poker table of politics. Gerrymandering is a bipartisan sport with a long, storied, colorful history. How bad is it? Well it may be a lot worse than you ever imagined in your worst civic nightmare. The bottom line: of the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, fewer than 40 are competitive! Take a few minutes or longer to let that fact sink in. And that’s down from 73 just ten years ago. And 108 in 1992. So it was horrific 30 years ago. Did anyone really care then? Do they now? Who should know this? Who does know this? What should be done about this? Personally, I think JS Mill was right — no proportional representation, no real democracy. This is a massive scam perpetrated by rational politicians pursuing their self-interest as the citizenry, young, middle-aged, and old, coddle the sweet illusion that we live in a democracy. To me the only solution is thinking citizenship. See second link below for details. Today a summary of and excerpts from the article on the front page of this morning’s New York Times that brought these appalling numbers to my attention. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GERRYMANDERING
1. Aggravation of polarization
2. Legislative stalemate.
3. Voter “alienation from the political process.”
NB: “It’s not yet clear which party will ultimately benefit more from this year’s bumper crop of safe seats, or whether President Biden’s sagging approval ratings might endanger Democrats whose districts haven’t been considered competitive.”
THE CASE OF NEW YORK STATE — rigged by Democrats
1.“New York’s new map doesn’t just set Democrats up to win more seats, it also eliminates competitive districts.”
2. “In 2020, there were four districts where Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump were within five percentage points. There are none in the new map.”
3. “Even the reconfigured district that stretches from Republican-dominated Staten Island to Democratic neighborhoods in Brooklyn is now, at least on paper, friendly territory for Democrats.”
NB: “When I was a member of Congress, most members woke up concerned about a general election,” said former Representative Steve Israel of New York, who led the House Democrats’ campaign committee during the last redistricting cycle. “Now they wake up worried about a primary opponent.”
THE CASE OF TEXAS — rigged by Republicans
1. “No state has quashed competition ahead of the midterm elections like Texas. In the 2020 election, there were 12 competitive districts in the state. After redistricting, there is only one.”
2. “Though Mr. Trump won 52 percent of the vote in Texas in 2020, Republicans are expected to win roughly 65 percent — 24 of the state’s 38 congressional seats. (Texas gained two seats in the reapportionment after the 2020 census.)”
3.“The Texas state legislators who control redistricting shored up Republican incumbents including Representatives Dan Crenshaw, Beth Van Duyne and Michael McCaul, but in doing so also drew safer districts for Democrats such as Representatives Colin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher.”
FOOTNOTES — Best phrases to describe what is going on?
1. “Taking voters out of the equation.”
2. “November becomes a constitutional formality.”
‘Taking the Voters Out of the Equation’: How the Parties Are Killing Competition
Last four years of posts organized thematically:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to math, statistics, or numbers in general. Or, even better, the coolest or most important thing you learned in your life related to math.
This is your chance to make someone else’s day. And to consolidate in your memory something you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart. Continuity is key to depth of thought.
