Democrats have spent years criticising Republican-led states over gerrymandering, accusing them of undermining democracy by drawing congressional districts to maintain political power.
That narrative, however, was challenged on national television Monday night when Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker faced scrutiny over his own party’s redistricting practices.
Pritzker, a Democrat, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where the host brought up the controversial shapes of Illinois’s congressional districts.
Colbert began the segment by displaying a visual of the state’s current map, zeroing in on what he described as unusually drawn lines.
“Take a look at this. Look at 17 here. It does that, then it comes up here and it sneaks around there and goes all the way up here and then goes right over there like that. And look at this one, kind of goes whoop up there. It’s like the stinger on a scorpion down here,” Colbert said, pointing to different areas of the map as the studio audience laughed.
Despite the humorous setup, Colbert turned serious when he asked, “Is this common for all states to do?”
Pritzker responded with what was supposed to be a joke, saying, “We hand it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide.”
Colbert pressed further: “Okay, and that’s the nonpartisan group that does this for you guys?”
Instead of clarifying or addressing the concern, Pritzker doubled down, failing to offer any evidence of independent oversight in the map-drawing process.
Illinois’s congressional map, redrawn in 2021 by the Democratic-controlled state legislature, has been widely criticized as a partisan gerrymander.
Nonpartisan election analysts and good-government groups have flagged Illinois as one of the most extreme examples of redistricting abuse in the country, per reports.
The redistricting process in Illinois was not managed by an independent commission. Instead, it was overseen entirely by Democratic lawmakers, who used the opportunity to shore up electoral advantages by slicing Republican-leaning areas and merging them into Democrat-heavy urban districts.
Rather than acknowledging this on national television, Pritzker shifted the conversation to Texas.
“Well here, every 10 years we do a census in this country and right after the census we redraw districts in every state. But what the Republicans are trying to do—and the Texas Republicans, frankly at the behest of Donald Trump—are doing it mid-decade. That is extraordinarily rare,” he said.
His deflection referenced a 2021 move by Texas Republicans to call a special legislative session and redraw congressional boundaries.
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That effort prompted Democratic lawmakers in Texas to flee the state in an attempt to block a quorum and stall the vote, Resist the Mainstream previously reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott responded by threatening the lawmakers with arrest. President Donald Trump also weighed in, urging the Democrats to return to work and accusing them of abandoning their legislative duties.
The political clash in Texas spurred Senate Democrats in Washington to call for investigations into potential executive interference.
Some even suggested the Hatch Act may have been violated. However, critics argue that these calls appeared selective, given the silence surrounding similar practices in states like Illinois.
While Texas faced national scrutiny for its redistricting effort, Illinois Democrats were able to pass their own map with little resistance, despite widespread concerns about fairness and transparency.
The new map significantly favored Democrats, helping them secure additional congressional seats and protect incumbents.
The post Epic Facepalm Moment Dems’ Gerrymandering Narrative Completely Collapses on Live TV appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Jordyn M.
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