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Hypocrisy isn’t exactly a rarity in politics, but this Associated Press report out of Wisconsin points to a level of hypocrisy so dramatic that it might cause a tear in the space-time continuum.
Wisconsin’s powerful Republican Assembly leader said Tuesday that he hopes the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court adopts new constitutional legislative boundary maps, even as he slammed proposals from Democrats as “a political gerrymander” and threatened an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Oh my.
Shortly before Christmas, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the state’s existing map, concluding that its district boundaries are at odds with the state constitution’s requirement of “contiguous territories” in legislative districts. “At least 50 of 99 assembly districts and at least 20 of 33 senate districts violate this mandate, rendering them unconstitutional,” the court’s majority wrote.
As we discussed soon after, the ruling was an important breakthrough for democracy advocates. After all, it’s difficult to overstate just how important gerrymandering has been to Wisconsin Republicans in recent years. In 2016, for example, GOP state senators received 49% of the vote, but ended up with 56% of the power. In 2018, Republican state House candidates received 45% of the vote, but ended up with 64% of the power. In 2020, GOP state senators received 49% of the vote, but ended up with 63% of the power.
Given this, when describing Wisconsin’s political system, “democracy” is not the first word that comes to mind. Since the 2010 election cycle, Republican officials in the state have created a model in which it’s effectively impossible for voters to elect a Democratic majority to the state legislature. Even when Democratic candidates received the most votes, it was the GOP that ended up with legislative majorities in Madison.
In response to the state Supreme Court’s ruling, Wisconsin Republicans proposed a new, alternative map that would — you guessed it — ensure that GOP legislators have exactly the same majority that they currently enjoy. Democrats have offered changes of their own, which Vos, the legislature’s top Republican, derided as “nothing more than a political gerrymander.”
Or put another way, the GOP leader whose conference is responsible for one of the most brazen and legally dubious political gerrymanders in modern American history feels justified in complaining about others’ willingness to engage in political gerrymandering.
As the AP’s report added, the submitted maps are currently being reviewed by consultants hired by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and those consultants are expected to submit a final report in a couple of weeks. That document is expected to include their recommendations for the state’s district maps. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.