Democrats caught mapping

COLUMBUS

I was wondering this week: How are all of you Democrats feeling about your new congressional districts?

You know, the ones that were drawn and then redrawn by the Republicans who control the Ohio Statehouse in a process you’ve been railing against for a couple of months.

The ones that were approved, with support from lawmakers on your side of the aisle, and signed into law by Gov. John Kasich just before the holiday break.

The ones you’re supposed to take some comfort in, since, according to the higher-ups, they were tweaked in response to your referendum effort.

You know, that referendum effort that involved you gathering signatures on petitions to put the GOP in its place.

That referendum against the original district lines, that you said were way out of balance, with 12 seats firmly in Republican control and only four for your party.

That referendum that was to be a continuation of the dominant effort you and organized labor and some like-minded Republicans put forth to stop Senate Bill 5.

Tough talk

That referendum followed a lot of tough talk from Democratic lawmakers and party officials about how they weren’t going to stand for a map that represented the worst partisan gerrymandering in the history of mankind.

You know, the map with all of those crazy-shaped districts, stretching across communities with populations and interests that had little in common.

The map that prompted members of your caucus to hold back on the needed numbers of minority party votes for an emergency clause to ensure Ohio had only one primary as opposed to two.

The map that moved you and others to stand out in the rain and the cold to collect signatures on petitions to give voters a voice in the process.

You know, the process you said was lacking in public scrutiny, involving secret hotel room bunkers and Speaker Boehner and companies being moved in and out of areas, based on their potential campaign contributions.

A process that you said needed to be fixed, post haste, even if it meant leaving Ohio without defined districts and in chaos in the presidential election year.

The process that, in the end, maintained Republicans’ 12-4 position among the state’s congressional districts and potentially could cost the black legislative caucus one of its long-held seats.

Task force

The process that you have been told could be changed through yet another task force created to study the issue and offer recommendations for potential ballots issues that still would have to be approved by voters.

The process that you were going to change, through your referendum effort, which has since been abandoned.

You know, abandoned like the humane society’s animal abuse referendum, dropped last year after Gov. Ted Strickland made promises that he couldn’t keep.

Abandoned like that paid sick days issue that organizers pulled off the ballot a few years back with assurances that President Barack Obama would deal with it to backers’ liking.

Abandoned like so many other political movements after working the party faithful into a frenzy.

So I’ll ask again: How are all of you Democrats feeling about your new congressional districts?

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.