Here's a baseball analogy for y'all.
I am an Atlanta Braves fan. In 1995, my Braves won the World Series, and then in 1996, it looked like they were about to repeat. They won the first World Series game at Yankee Stadium easily, 12-1, and the second game, 4-0. Then the Series moved to Atlanta, where the Yankees won Game 3, 5-2. The Braves led Game 4, 6-0, and were on the verge of taking a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the Series, but the Yankees started chipping away. It was 6-3 going into the eighth inning, but the Yankees tied it up in that inning with Jim Leyritz's unforgettable (I would like to call it infamous, but I'm trying to be objective) pinch-hit three-run homer, and then the Yankees won Game 4 in extra innings, 8-6, tying the Series at two games apiece. The next night, John Smoltz was the hard-luck loser, 1-0, and the Yankees took a 3 games to two lead back to Yankee Stadium, where they won Game 6, 3-2, and the Series in six games.
Ever since then, I have lamented a lot of things about that World Series, including the fact that the Braves outscored the Yankees, 26-18, but still somehow lost the Series in six games. But here's a way to fix that injustice: Suppose you could take three of those runs the Braves scored in Game 1 and add them to Game 4? Then instead of winning Game 1, 12-1, they win it, 9-1. Still a comfortable win. And they win Game 4 in regulation, 9-6, instead of losing it in extra innings, 8-6. Then instead of being two games apiece, the Braves have that commanding 3-1 lead after four games.
Then, take another three runs from that first game and add them to Game 5, and instead of losing that game, 1-0, the Braves win the game, 3-1, and win the Series in five games instead of losing it in six.
Any baseball fan, and any fan or player or official of any other sport, would agree that this would be cheating. Nobody could justify doing something like this. Nobody would or could argue that it's okay to do this.
And yet, this is EXACTLY what they do in politics, when they gerrymander political districts. Both political parties are guilty of doing this, but in recent years, Republicons have turned gerrymandering into a fine art. I have heard (and have no doubt it is true) that they even have computer programs that figure out how to draw districts to maximum benefit for Republicons.
If we Democrats win the White House and Senate and hold the House in November, one of the things I think we should do is start trying to pass a constitutional amendment OUTLAWING this undemocratic practice. It could require, for example, that all congressional districts have to be drawn using straight north-south or east-west lines, or existing state, city or county boundaries. The second article of the amendment then would state something like this: "The purpose of this amendment is to prevent the practice of drawing district boundaries for partisan political benefit."
What do y'all think?
-- Ron
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