The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that eight congressional districts in Florida violation Fair District amendment of 2010 and must be 
redrawn in 100 days — by the very same Republican-led State House and Senate that gerrymandered the districts in the first place.
Como?
Isn’t that like letting the fox back in the hen house after he’s already slaughtered a couple of your fattest chickens?
It seems counter productive to trust the same legislators who drew maps to favor their party paisanos. After all, these are the very people who created the “bizarrely shaped” Congressional District 5, which stretches 140 miles with “finger-like extensions” and “bizarrely shaped tentacles” from Jacksonville to Orlando.
It’s obvious to everyone, not just the five of seven justices who prevailed, that these legislators were intentionally violating the law to safeguard their friends — if only because District 5, which is still the subject of litigation, does not happen by accident.
So, rather than give them a chance at a do-over, shouldn’t we be holding them accountable somehow for what looks like a blatant and illegal power grab? They don’t get more than a slap on the wrist for playing fast and loose with democracy?
A Leon County Circuit Court judge had earlier found that Republican “political operatives” had “hijacked” the mapping process and — in covert operations involving the shredding of emails and naming maps “Sputnik” and “Frankenstein” — and corrupted the outcome to favor the GOP.
But does anybody think that these political consultants did this all by themselves, without the complicity and assistance of electeds? Come on! These people don’t do anything without getting paid for it.
The Florida legislature has to call another special session now to redraw what will likely be the entire congressional map. How do we know they won’t call their political operatives in on it again?
Well, this time, they are going to have to show their work. You know, like a cheating tenth grader taking a math test.
The Florida Supreme Court justices took the unusual step of mandating judicial oversight of the process. And they have this cloud hanging over the lawmakers’ heads: Do it right, or we’ll have it done for you.
But warnings are still needed. Only hours after the ruling, House Speaker Steve Crisafulli sent what amounts to a gag order memo to his colleagues, telling them “not to speak to members of Congress, staff, or political consultants about redistricting at this time.”
Oh, he added, and don’t shred any records or emails related to the process.
Because, this time, the farmer is watching the fox in the hen house.
Florida redistricting: Letting the fox in the hen house — again added by Ladra on
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I find it amazingly bewildering that the Republicans are so much better in the political landscape than Democrats are at cheating, stealing, lying and manipulating the political process.
“Conservatives” should be outraged by the constant waste of taxpayers dollars incurred as a result of these shameful and obvious shenanigans.
The GOP didn’t just break into the hen house all by themselves. They have been aided and abetted for decades by a pathetically-impotent state Democratic Party that has failed to elect a governor since Lawton Chiles, hasn’t had a majority in the state congressional delegation since the 80s, and has failed to recruit strong, popular candidates for statehouse races all over Fla., including an embarrassingly high number of uncontested seats that automatically went to GOP candidates in the last several elections.
Dems have as much as laid down and let the GOP walk all over them to take seats in Tallahassee.
The highest profile Fla. Dems are Bill Nelson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and… well, that’s it. That’s pretty much it. Embarrassingly it.
If the party continues not to take elections seriously enough to recruit viable candidates, throw financial support behind them, and let no GOP ad go unchallenged, then the same result will recur: the GOP’s vise grip on the statehouse will not loosen, the gerrymandering will resume, and majority voters will continue to be governed by officeholders from the minority party.
We can say bye to Curbelo!
Thanks, Daniel Jonas, for the Fair Districts Amendment!
Hey Jeff,
Thank Dan Jonas for the political machine he created in 2008.