Infuriating: Emails released in an ongoing federal lawsuit have confirmed that Michigan Republicans giddily engaged in naked gerrymandering when they redrew election districts after the 2010 census. One Republican staffer bragged about being able to "cram ALL of the Dem garbage" in populous southeastern Michigan into only four congressional districts. Another revealed a GOP aide was effusive over the 9th Congressional District "giving the finger" to Democratic Rep. Sandy Levin.
These emails don't just display the GOP's eagerness to gerrymander, they also reveal their overall strategy: pack Democrats into just five congressional districts while guaranteeing Republicans would win the other nine—even though Michigan is a swing state that leans blue. And they knew they could lock in that advantage for a long time to come, writing that they’d “spent a lot of time providing options to ensure we have a solid 9-5 delegation in 2012 and beyond.” Indeed, that disparity held up even when Democratic candidates for the House won more votes statewide in 2012 and 2014.
This gross disregard for democracy could boost the chances of the plaintiffs seeking to have these maps thrown out for violating voters' rights, and these emails given even more fuel to activists seeking to put a measure on the ballot this fall that would create an independent redistricting commission to stop future gerrymandering.
But Michigan's Republican-majority state Supreme Court might soon throw that initiative off the ballot thanks to a lawsuit spearheaded by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which has bankrolled the campaigns of some of the very same GOP justices on the court.
Fortunately, progressives have yet another way to fight back against Republican gerrymandering by electing Daily Kos-endorsed civil rights lawyer Sam Bagenstos to the state Supreme Court this fall. A Bagenstos win would help flip the court to a progressive majority, which in turn could uphold efforts to put independent redistricting on the ballot. It might even follow the lead of Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court and find that gerrymandering violates the state constitution.
Republicans have twisted Michigan's districts to lock in an unfair advantage, but there’s a lot we can do to restore democracy.
Please give $3 to help fight gerrymandering by electing Sam Bagenstos to the Michigan Supreme Court!
