If It Looks Like A Salamander...

Big gerrymandering case before the Supreme Court. I've always had a problem with the whole concept. (I won't even get into the unfortunate legal area of "minority districts," the very idea of which is bad for everyone involved.)

It's understood that those in power, if left alone, will likely design voting districts that favor their party. But is that really so easy to do?

First, they way things are now and will be for a while, Republicans tend to be out in the country, Democrats in the city. (I live in Hollywood, where the Dems win so easily there's hardly any reason to hold general elections.) "Normal-looking" districts are going to lead to easy winners in any case.

But the bigger point is, the more you carve out areas where you're certain to win, the more districts you have where the other side has a shot. In other words, does gerrymandering really help a party? It hardly seems obvious to me. As long as all can vote, and districts have approximately the same population, let 'em try. Let's see what happens. It'd be an interesting experiment.

(If anyone knows of any research that "proves" gerrymandering works overall, point me to it.)