Stop Dividing This Country

How did our government get to be so lopsided in one direction? Congressional districts should not be allowed to be re-mapped so often. Trump’s win in 2016 should make us think of how Hillary Clinton loses the election but wins the popular vote. They tell us to get out there and vote and that our vote counts but does it really count? They counted our votes and she won by thousands of voters getting out there and voting so how did she lose? Is the Electoral College system truly democratic? In the election Donald Trump got 59,704,886 votes that was 47.5%. Hillary Clinton got 59,932,290 votes that is 47.7%.  Why did she lose then???

Obama was correct when he said “We have to end the practice of drawing our Congressional Districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around.” Even Republican Newt Gingrich said he thought drawing lines for political reasons in voting districts is wrong. We need a new front in the gerrymandering wars of democracy vs. math. It is an issue of dividing our lands and conquering them. Congressional Districts are supposed to have similar populations of about 710,000 each. The districts should have a coherent geographic shape and communities of similar interests. That hasn’t been happening.

Of the 425 Congressional Districts in the United States North Carolina has 13 and one of those districts the city of Asheville’s large leaning liberal population made it hard for a Democrat to lose until in 2011 a redrawing of the lines split that population into two other conservative districts and now the entire area is dominated by Republicans. This is typical as to why so many Republicans are managing to be elected into office. Now the House and Senate is dominated by Republicans. The White House is dominated by Republicans and the rest of us just have worn out protest shoes.

The Republican State Legislature was able to just draw up different voting lines in the state. No voting involved on that decision.  Gerrymandering is the name called for the practice of manipulating the district voting maps. Since 2010 the Republicans have managed to dominate the entire state of North Carolina’s voting districts meanwhile there are more registered Democrats than Republicans. This is how Hillary wins the most votes but loses the election. Now the Republicans dominate in the nation’s statehouses.

Since 2012 they call it red map where money and efforts were done to change the map of American voters. Since then 3,112 Democratic seats have been lost to 4,156 Republican seats in the State Legislature in the United States. Now the Republicans have all the power. The main problem is that this is all legal.

 THERE ARE NOT LAWS TO STOP GERRYMANDERING

Now Republicans hold 64% per cent of State Assembly Seats. Since 2014 the Republicans have gained seats significantly from 14 in 2010 to 32 seats this year. With everyone feeling disgusted with the total Republican influence in our top government spots we need to stop the practice of gerrymandering of creating districts to clump Republican voters together making it look like it is a majority vote when it really isn’t. Most voters don’t even know that the maps are being drawn in one direction. Maybe if Congress had more of an approval rating, if they were being fair to all Americans wants and needs no one would care how the maps are being drawn.

All of these district lines are making Americans being more divided and more totally one way or the other. Therefore people are dwelling more on being powerfully divided that getting anything done together. This nonsense must be stopped. We need laws to stop the gerrymandering. Put this issue in the hands of the Supreme Court and not in the hands of the legislatures that will simply claim a district for themselves. We don’t need a literal people arms race to divide this country even more than it already is.