tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8872252.post7021687746874231537..comments2023-10-01T04:39:40.541-04:00Comments on The Lipstick Republican: Well, it's "change" at any rate...Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623031374944444521noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8872252.post-29202897082334287552009-02-25T12:46:00.000-05:002009-02-25T12:46:00.000-05:00Redistricting is indeed political gamesmanship and...Redistricting is indeed political gamesmanship and I'm not a fan of gerrymandering, in spite of the (pretty reasonable) argument that gerrymandering can improve representation of a voting bloc that, in a non-gerrymandered district, might not be properly represented. I don't support it because in our system, <I>every</I> group, every <I>individual</I> on the wrong side of an election is "underrepresented." I'm grossly underrepresented in my State. But that doesn't give me some penumbral right to be better grouped with the like-minded Republican women of Pennsylvania. (Together maybe we could start a book club.)<BR/><BR/>But what we're talking about here is, first, redefining "enumeration" as "statistical modelling." I don't argue that it's easy to collect census data in "high-density urban environments" - by which I assume you're encoding "single-ethnicity, non-white areas where a government worker is avoided like the plague." No doubt. Nevertheless, statistics are at the mercy of those using them, which brings us to the second thing I was blogging on: that the Census, the means by which Federal redistricting would be decided, would be directly supervised by the Executive, rather than only taking place under the umbrella of the Executive Branch and appearing as a budget subgroup therein.<BR/><BR/>Obama could have only the good of the nation in mind with this plan. I think he probably does (though I'd argue that his idea of "good" and mine are not too similar). But both the appearance of impropriety and the potential for abuse are very great. Not a terrific introduction to how we're going to be governed over the next four years.Jamiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623031374944444521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8872252.post-63276966690688981942009-02-21T10:57:00.000-05:002009-02-21T10:57:00.000-05:00Accurate census data in high-density urban environ...Accurate census data in high-density urban environments are notoriously difficult to obtain. This is well established.<BR/><BR/>The GOP fears that the population growth in urban centers might threaten their seats. The DNC knows that an accurate count will probably help them.<BR/><BR/>This is honest political gamesmanship, but it is by no means illegal.<BR/><BR/>The Republicans do it to, when it benefits them.<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Texas_redistrictingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com