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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Still suffering from the hangover, Democrats forswear the bottle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four weeks ago, the GOP leadership of the Legislature told a task force appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue that — since the right people were now in control — all this talk of an independent commission to draw the state’s political boundaries was just plain silly.
On Wednesday, a team of out-of-power Democratic legislators faced the same panel. And with the air of repentant sinners, they declared that the time had come to make redistricting — if not apolitical — then less political.
“The temptation is just too strong, in my opinion,” said Doug Stoner of Smyrna, speaking for Senate Democrats. “I don’t exclude myself from that, in the sense of that temptation.”
State Rep. Jane Kidd of Athens, in the midst of a bid to replace Republican Brian Kemp in the Senate, offered evidence that Republicans are proving themselves just as talented at manipulating district lines as Democrats ever were. She faces Republican Bill Cowsert, Kemp’s brother-in-law, in November.
Last spring, to help assure that the seat would stay Republican, the GOP-controlled Legislature altered the boundaries for Senate District 46, splitting Athens and Clarke County in two — and increasing the number of Republican-leaning voters from 51 percent to 58 percent. “The public does not like to be jerked around like that,” Kidd said.
That particular Republican effort, in fact, prompted Perdue to appoint the task force — even as the governor signed the bill.
If elected, Kidd promised her first piece of legislation would be a constitutional amendment to put redistricting in the hands of an independent commission.
Judging by the questions with which Democrats were peppered, the panel appears headed toward recommending some form of non-partisan — or less partisan — buffer when it comes to redistricting.
Panelists, headed by former state Supreme Court chief justice Harold Clarke, focused on whether it was in fact possible to build a line-drawing commission that wasn’t subject to political pressure — in other words, who would appoint the line-drawers?
The panel has until the end of this year to decide.
It’s all about the sheriffs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Over at Hotline on Call there’s an interesting analysis of party politics in Georgia and Arkansas. It makes an argument that a lot of old-timers would say amen to: That sheriff’s races, or in this case sheriffs’ endorsements, are the truest measure of where party politics is at the grassroots level.
There’s also a list of the 15 best down-ticket races in the country. We’d argue about Georgia: our choice would have been the ag commissioner’s race between Tommy Irvin, the state’s longest-serving Democrat, and a well-funded Republican opponent, Gary Black. But that’s what fun about lists.
