Lawmakers need to end wrangling

On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejected a request from top Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers to put on hold an order from the state Supreme Court that the commonwealth’s congressional districts be redrawn. Last month, the Democraticcontrolled Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the current map of 18 districts violated the state constitution “clearly, plainly and palpably,” and ordered the boundaries to be redrawn immediately. The justices gave the Republican-controlled state Legislature until Feb. 9 — today — to pass a redrawn map, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf until Feb. 15 to submit it to the court. “Otherwise, the justices said they will adopt a plan in an effort to keep the May 15 primary election on track,” The Associated Press reported.

A memo to state lawmakers: You’re supposed to conduct your business in those elegantly appointed legislative chambers that have been provided to you.

Not in the courts. Alas, the debate over redistricting in Pennsylvania is being played out in lawyers’ offices and courtrooms rather than in the General Assembly.

After Republicans lost on redistricting in the state Supreme Court dominated by Democrats, they asked for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Alito, a conservative, rejected their plea. Nevertheless, the legal maneuverings persist. State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai issued a joint statement Monday saying they “will do our best to comply with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s (Jan. 22) order, but may be compelled to pursue further legal action in federal court.”

Scarnati and Turzai would like to sideline Democratic state Supreme Court justices David Wecht and Christine Donohue. Scarnati also has defied a state Supreme Court order to hand over congressional district data.

A rank-and-file Republican lawmaker has gone a different route, circulating a memo calling for the impeachment of the Democratic justices who ruled the GOP-drawn map unconstitutional. His effort may be intended to garner headlines, but at least it’s a legislative one.

The sound and fury over the state Supreme Court ruling is a measure of just how much the Republican Party has to lose if the state’s congressional map is redrawn.

With the 2018 midterm elections — and the threat of a “blue wave” — looming, the state GOP wants to maintain the congressional map drawn after the 2010 census. It has, after all, enabled Pennsylvania Republicans to win 13 of 18 congressional seats — despite being outnumbered by registered Democrats in the commonwealth by a margin of more than 808,000.

But in life, as in football, complaining about the refs is a mug’s game. (Feel free to complain, however, about Cris Collinsworth’s color commentary during Super Bowl LII, when — have we mentioned it yet? — the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots.)

The reality is that because Republicans were in power after the 2010 census, they rigged the game in their favor; that’s the wont of whichever party is in power. But now the jig is up.

It’s not a matter of whether Pennsylvania was unfairly gerrymandered to one political party’s advantage. It’s a matter of when sanity will be restored to redistricting.

We prefer that a citizens commission, like one proposed by the nonpartisan group Fair Districts PA, be charged with the task of drawing legislative districts.

Yes, this is a tight deadline. But it’s not as if the royal cartographer has to be summoned to the palace with his compasses and triangles and quills. We’re guessing computer-generated maps already exist. The chosen map just needs to pass the fairness test.

No more packing one party’s voters into fewer districts to minimize their power. And no more cracking apart districts, divvying up municipalities and communities, for political advantage. Voters choose lawmakers; lawmakers shouldn’t choose their voters.

So select a map that enables Pennsylvania voters to cast meaningful votes. And instead of relying on a gerrymandered map, make your best case to voters — and let the chips fall where they may.

— LNP newspaper, The Associated Press