Minority Congressional Districts

[FSBlueApocalypse]

We just passed two ballot measures in Florida aimed at ending the practice of gerrymandering. Of course, several prominent Congressmen (Both Ds and Rs) were against it. While it's obvious they're simply trying to keep their seats in Congress, they've turned this into an issue of race.

One representative said "These amendments will have the effect of bleaching the state of Florida as it was before 1992 when minorities did not have the ability to elect candidates of their choice. It's unworkable. It will have a devastating effect on minorities across the state."

Call me crazy, but when you put all the blacks in one district and all the Hispanics in their own district, doesn't that end up bleaching the state much faster?

[MrBogosity]

It's like an odd sort of segregation: instead of herding people of different races into certain border lines, you just re-draw the border lines to encompass mostly people of one race or another.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Yep

Here is the prime example. This is Corrine Brown's district. The parts in Clay county are literally only 100 yards wide. Everywhere else is almost entirely Black (and Democrat.) What's worse, the Republicans love it as well since that means the surrounding areas are all Republican.

[MrBogosity]

Yes, this is NC's 12th Congressional District (Mel Watt's district, and if there's any bigger argument against gerrymandering I don't know it!):