Slay the Gerrymander
Grace discusses the effect of gerrymandering, sharing how it influences the political structure in South Carolina. She explains how legislative boundaries are redrawn by the party in power resulting in a less responsive government, a lack of accountability, and the imposition of radical ideologies. Grace explores the judiciary's stance on gerrymandering. She suggests that a non-partisan commission should oversee redistricting, instead of the legislature, to secure a fair and representative government.
00:00 Introduction to Gerrymandering
00:25 Understanding the Census and Redistricting
02:10 The Origin of Gerrymandering
02:30 Cracking and Packing: Common Gerrymandering Techniques
03:10 The Impact of Gerrymandering on Democracy
03:30 The Role of Technology in Gerrymandering
04:11 The Consequences of Gerrymandering
05:13 The Solution to Gerrymandering
05:39 Gerrymandering in the Courts
06:55 The Future of Gerrymandering
07:29 Gerrymandering and Partisan Extremism
08:22 The Importance of Checks and Balances
08:34 Conclusion and Further Discussion
Transcript
Frogmore Stew with Grace Cowan – Slay the Gerrymander
Grace:Hi, it's Grace. And this is Frogmore Stew.
[: Comments:They drew the district lines to ensure that they could maintain as much political power as possible with as little competition as possible.
Probably partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. The problem is politicians don't like to change the rules.
Grace:Every 10 years on years that end in zero, our country counts how many of us there are through the census. And those numbers are then used to create districts for our representatives. At the state level, our state House and our state Senate, and on the federal level, the US House members and the US Senate members.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: Comments:Nationally, the gerrymander will help Republicans flip several seats in Congress.
We have been gerrymandered out of having a choice about who can represent us.
Probably partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional.
Grace:Democracy requires at least two healthy political parties. Having a party that stands in opposition to those in power allows for healthy disagreement and oversight. It's that old checks and balances thing and God knows we need more of that here in the Palmetto State.
[: Comment:Voters deserve a choice and competition is good for democracy.
Grace:That's all the stew for today. Talk to you next week.
The Frogmore Stew podcast with Grace Cowan is produced and directed To by TJ Phillips with the Podcast Solutions Network.
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