Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy Hardcover – June 14, 2016

If you ever wondered what happened to the rational middle in American politics, you've come to the right place. David Daley's book is essential reading for both political wonks and the American general public (though I fear it a bit too wonkish for mainstream consumption). It's the story of how our public present and future got retarded beyond any sense of relatability by an extreme form of gerrymandering that took hold after the 2010 census.As Daley says:"The simple truth is this: America is the only major democracy in the world that allows politicians to pick their own voters. And since the 2010 election, the system has been gamed to create an artificial— but foolproof— Republican majority in the House and in state capitals nationwide."Republicans smartly seized the advantage after President Barack Obama's sweeping 2008 electoral victory. Their Operation Redmap targeted control of statehouses in which state legislatures were empowered to redraw their state's US congressional maps. This task takes place every decade in response to electoral college rebalancing among the states after the census.The result of Operation Redmap: shocking, complete victory of every target this DC-based crew went after nationwide. I give credit to Daley here for the tone of his book: though he's clearly unsettled -- and, at times, disgusted -- by the operation and its outcomes, he accords respect to the people that foresaw and executed it, even making note of the civility and openness with which they are willing to discuss and recount the campaign. In particular, Chris Jankowski -- described in Daley's pages as "the Mastermind" -- comes across as a genteel gentleman, far removed from anyone's vision of a dark, malevolent, backstage puppetmaster.As much as Daley would like to see this outcome as some dirty deed perpetrated against the Democrats, he instead smartly asks:"How could this happen to the Democrats? How could a party with such a genuine demographic edge get out-organized, out-strategized and out-energized in election after election?"It's dispiriting.But the operation has had its blowback, too. Daley takes us on a state-by-state redistricting highlight tour. One stop: Ohio, where John Boehner's political team helped draw the post 2010 map. As Daley notes, the monster -- now unleashed -- turned on one of its enablers:"But as John Boehner’s political team helped influence Ohio’s new congressional lines, he probably never imagined that his party’s aggressive redistricting maneuvers would contribute to his being toppled as Speaker of the House just four years later. [The operation] had blowback, and there would be unintended consequences— for the Republican Party and the entire U.S. government."And, that's where we are now. It's going to take years, if not decades, to unwind all this mess.

Excellent explanation of gerrymandering and vote harvesting undermining democracy. Shows one way that partisanship has become so entrenched and bitter. Exposes how elitism and money snubs and manipulates the common voter. Media ought to keep this in the news and public discussion to educate voters.

This is a very interesting story of how the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) would turn the electoral map bright red. The plan was called REDMAP, which stood for Redistricting Majority Project. The effect of this redistricting is important. For example, in the 2012 election, 1.4 million more Americans voted for Democratic House candidates than Republican candidates, yet Republicans ended up with a 33 seat advantage in the House. As the author noted, "REDMAP built a firewall against the popular will. And it held strong." Today we have 435 sets of lines drawn with the help of big data. This has sorted us into congressional districts that have, in essence, been insulated from the will of the people. This can certainly be called a rigged system. We have a system here in America that basically allows politicians to pick their own voters. We are the only major democracy in the world that allows this. It allows Republicans, at this point, to maintain a foolproof majority in the House. The author makes the point, "that when our democratic institutions become separated from the popular will, they cease to be effective and democratic." Loyola law professor Justin Levitt has a website that lists 37 states where state legislatures have primary control over their lines and 42 states where the legislatures draw the congressional districts. This is so unfair to the election process. The party in power in a state can redistrict the state to ensure they will maintain control for a very long time.The author, in subsequent chapters, goes into some detail about the specific redistricting in various states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Arizona. You really have to read this to believe it. For example, in North Carolina there is a sea horse shaped district (the 4th) that is specifically designed to make all the surrounding districts safely Republican. Today, pencils and parchment have given way to powerful computer algorithms. It is almost unbelievable how much easier this process has been made because of computers and software and data. One such program is called Maptitude for Redistricting. It is possible to know the voting patterns block by block or even house by house. This is scary. In Michigan, the author actually drove the border of a particular gerrymandered district. What he saw was incredible! One could drive along I-75, at one point, for a distance of 30 miles and change congressional districts six times.In the penultimate chapter, the author discusses possible solutions by university professors and states to change this system. Creating a fair system is what we need. The big question is: will it ever get done?