The recall elections against six Wisconsin Republican state senators were supposed to take place today. However, Republicans ran fake candidates in the Democratic primaries, thus pushing off the big day until Aug. 9. Tonight we will only be getting returns on the primaries, which the real Democrats are expected to win easily.
In addition to running Himalayan amounts of corporate-fueled attack ads, Republicans are using the four-week interim to pass redistricting legislation:
Republicans unveiled a plan Friday to redraw the state's 132 legislative seats just before a wave of recall elections this summer - a proposal that would push at least 11 pairs of lawmakers into the same districts.
A quick vote would allow GOP lawmakers to approve the maps and lock down advantages for themselves at the ballot box for the next 10 years by drawing district lines in their favor. Republicans' schedule would allow them to sign off on maps to their liking even if they lose control of the Senate in the coming weeks.
Yesterday, the relevant committee in the state Assembly met to schedule an extraordinary session to pass this legislation. The vote passed on party lines, 4-3. So, this is going to happen.
Wisconsin Democrats have been saying that Republicans would do this for months. When reporters asked Republicans about these accusations, they were provided only insulting responses:
“You talked to Democrats who ‘think’ that Republican leaders have these grand plots,” Andrew Welhouse, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, says in an email response to questions about GOP plans. “I guess I’ll leave it up to your journalistic standards if their motivated speculation is worth reporting on.”
How dare you ask us if we are going to pass redistricting legislation before the recalls! That's nothing but baseless, biased speculation and the sign of a journalist with no professional standards at all. Oh, and by the way, here is the redistricting legislation we are going to pass before the recalls.
The map impacts four of the nine districts in the recall elections, all in favor of Republicans:
Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) would see her 8th Senate District change significantly, likely becoming far more Republican.
Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), who is facing a recall election, would be drawn out of the 22nd District he has long represented. He called the changes "shameful political gerrymandering."
Democrats said two Democrats challenging Republican senators in recall elections - Rep. Fred Clark of Baraboo and former Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum - were drawn out of the districts they are seeking.
As Dane101 points out, Nusbaum is redistricted out by a single block, clearly illustrating that the purpose of these maps is to mitigate the damage the recalls can do to Republicans.
What's unusual about this is that redistricting by the state legislature doesn't normally happen in Wisconsin until counties and municipalities draw new lines for wards. Local lines are drawn first, since acting otherwise would create an administrative disaster:
Ken Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and redistricting expert, says any attempt to map legislative districts before municipalities finish their work “would be an administrative nightmare.” That’s because the Republicans couldn’t start at the ward level but instead would use census data to overlay legislative districts on top of municipal electoral maps.
“Think of what would happen if you draw a district line in a way that it splits a ward down the middle,” says Mayer, who served as an adviser for Senate Democrats during the redistricting battle 10 years ago. “You’d have to double the number of polling places. It would be a nightmare for the clerks.”
Yeah, but who cares about good governance. The important thing here is that Republicans win elections.
Mark another one down in a long list of power grabs by the new model Wisconsin Republican Party. Expect a similar model GOP to come to be arriving in your state soon, if it hasn't done so already.