The Intersection of Sense and Nonsense

As a champion of redistricting leaves the stage, the partisan hacks of the Maryland Democratic Party push hardcore gerrymandering

It seems a fitting coda to Governor Larry Hogan’s electoral career that he decided today was the day to quell the speculation.

In an op-ed in this morning’s Sun, Hogan said he did not plan to run for office again. He specifically highlighted the following

To truly revive civic engagement, we must reform the system. We need common-sense measures like term limits and non-partisan redistricting to break the grip of permanent incumbency and ensure that our government remains a revolving door for the best ideas, not a fortress for career politicians and ideas that never worked in the first place.

He’s not wrong. Non-partisan redistricting was one of Hogan’s signature issues. The 2022 Congressional district proposal put forth by Hogan’s redistricting commission was one of the most even-handed, fair proposals in the history of our state.

Now juxtapose that with the nonsense coming out of Wes Moore’s Partisan Redistricting Commission today:

Maryland’s redistricting commission approved a new congressional map to Gov. Wes Moore that could lead to Democrats taking all eight of the state’s seats.

Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who is also the chair of the redistricting commission, released a statement Tuesday afternoon to announce the recommendation.

“Tonight, the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission voted to recommend a new congressional map concept to the Governor and the General Assembly. This recommendation reflects the work of Marylanders—built from public map submissions, shaped by hours of community feedback, and developed through a transparent redistricting process.

The process, of course, was not transparent, nor was it any of the other buzzwords Alsobrooks used. It was yet another redistricting commission where Democrats baked the outcome in advance. There was never going to be a situation where this commission of partisan hacks produced anything other than a gerrymandered 8-0 map. And they did. Mission accomplished, I guess.

Republicans are, naturally, unhappy with the result:

“The Redistricting Commission’s vote today confirmed what we have been saying all along: that this Commission had nothing to do with fairness, nothing to do with the wants and needs of our citizens, and, quite frankly, nothing to do with Maryland,” House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said. “Instead, this Commission has everything to do with D.C. partisan politics and the desires of the Democratic National Committee. This Commission was merely a drawn-out political sham with a pre-determined outcome: to rid Maryland of any Republican representation in Congress and disenfranchise voters in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Nothing drives this home more than their absurd end product.”

We’ll talk about the proposal itself in a future write-up. But you know who else is unhappy? Senate President Bill Ferguson:

“The Governor’s Commission recommended a map today that is objectively unconstitutional and jeopardizes Maryland’s existing map. From the outset, the Senate’s position has been consistent: in this important moment, Maryland cannot risk going backwards by giving the Trump Administration another seat or two in Congress from Maryland’s delegation.

Ferguson effectively has the power to make sure that the redistricting bill never sees the light of day by putting it in his desk, not scheduling it for a vote, and seeing that it expires sine die at the end of the session in April. The power is not with Wes Moore, but with Ferguson in this regard. A power that Ferguson has exercised more than a few times.

But the juxtaposition is hard to ignore in today’s events. Sense exits the stage while nonsense continues to reign. The champion of redistricting reform retires, while those in favor of partisan gerrymandering forever and ever try to impose their will over the people. Until Maryland comes to its senses and elects both a Governor and legislators who believe in common sense redistricting reform, this vicious cycle will continue decennially.