The Georgia House Reapportionment Committee is likely approving a new congressional map right now (I won’t be near my computer when the decision hits the news). Though I’ve been told this particular map isn’t that bad, any congressional map drawn by any state legislature (regardless of which party is running it) is going to be designed with the purpose of keeping districts safe for incumbents. This leads to ideological radicalism becoming the accepted M.O. from both sides. Candidates who advance through primaries usually do so by pandering to the most extreme factions of their party. Post-election, in a safe district, they are not held accountable for pushing legislation totally against the wishes of the ideological minority population in the district, but face a potential challenge from within their own parties if they don’t deliver to the base. Good people with pragmatic attitudes interested in working toward the common good are weeded out during this process.

The Legislature should have taken Iowa’s lead and formed an independent, non-partisan commission to draw the maps (Governor Schwarzenegger is trying to do the same thing in California). As Iowa has illustrated, taking the power to draw congressional maps away from the legislature creates more competitive districts where extremists from both parties are held accountable by their constituents if they push too far in one direction.