TX Redistricting
Charles Kuffner has commented on Cragg Hines's ongoing criticism of Tom DeLay, who has been pushing for the Texas legislature to return to the question of redistricting. The legislature seems not to want any part of it, and both Hines and Kuffner seem to think it's crass opportunism on the part of DeLay to resurrect the question of redistricting.
They're probably not wrong.
And I can even agree that reopening this can of worms probably isn't worth it given the current fiscal crunch in the state and the current legal regime that surrounds redistricting.
But that said, I'm unnerved that the judicial branch has assumed such a legislative role in redistricting. People complain that redistricting is nothing but "political" these days -- but in those states whose constitutions bestow that power on the legislature, one must assume that it was intended to be political. The legislature is necessarily political! That's part of the constitutional design.
It may indeed be more "fair" to push the job off on the judicial branch, and in some cases it may even be necessary. No doubt, Democrats in Texas probably think the judiciary's plan is more "fair" than most anything that could be offered by the legislature. They may be right about that. They may not be (case in point: Georgia's arrogant redistricting plan). Regardless, I'd prefer the legislature (Democrat or Republican) rather than the judiciary make the decision. And since that's the general constitutional design in the state, I can't see that my preference is as self-evidently ridiculous as Mr. Hines might suggest.
[Posted at 20:15 CST on 02/18/03] [Link]
