Gerry and the salamander, which I’m hoping is as interesting a lede as I hope this column may be. Truth be told, I just wanted to use the word portmanteau in a column.
But I digress.
Elbridge Gerry was Vice President of the United States, and happened to be the Governor of Massachusetts in 1812 which he won in what press accounts of the time refer to as a “highly acrimonious campaign”.
The man was a bit of a sphincter. Some things in politics just never change.
Prerequisites for office aside, Governor Gerry was no stranger to controversy, and had there been electrical outlets at the time, he would have been putting a fork in them, just as your author likes to metaphorically do today.
Massachusetts in 1812 adopted new constitutionally mandated electoral district boundaries. They were created by the Legislature to enhance one party control over states national offices.
Imagine that – a party of attorneys bending the rules in a blatant land grab, violating all known ethical approaches to power and prosperity. This led to some interestingly shaped legislative districts. Eldridge Gerry was not happy with the new districting map or the mental gymnastics required in its creation.
One press report claimed he thought it was highly disagreeable, but in a moment of compromise and pragmatism, he held his nose and signed the legislation into law.
Newspapers at the time were highly partisan, and a local Federalist outlet called the new districts a “Gerry-mander” because of its alleged resemblance to a salamander, and for the Governor who affixed his mark to a piece of legislation that was really good for the politicians and not so much for the people.
I think Elbridge, a truly irascible politician in his time, didn’t want to be known for the thinly veiled power grab that he put his signature on a little more than 200 years ago, but here we are today, and we don’t know him as Vice President and Governor.
We do know him for what was possibly his greatest concession, and his name is held in a negative connotation surrounding one of the least ethical political practices.
The term gerrymander is a portmanteau of salamander and Governor Gerry’s last name, and was originally written as “Gerry-mander”. The printing technology of the time had capital letters in a case that was above the larger and more often used minuscule case, and thus “Gerry-mander” became “gerrymander”, so the typesetters didn’t need to reach the upper case for the capital letter, or the specials for the hyphen.
Regardless, Elbridge Gerry would not be pleased with what he’s know for today.
But wait, there’s more!
Today, one party really shines when it comes to distorting and twisting the rules for their own advantage, and Massachusetts is one of the leaders. Over 40 percent of the electorate considers themselves right-leaning, and there are zero Republican Congressmen. All nine are Democrats.
You read that right, none. No representation at all. A ton of taxation, though.
Connecticut with 42 percent Republicans has ZERO Republican seats in the peoples house. Maine has even more Republicans and zero Republican congressmen. New Mexico, New Hampshire,Vermont, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Delaware all have significant Republican populations, but have no Republicans in the House. None. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
There can only be one explanation for this – Republicans really suck at gerrymandering.
Or the Democrats are really good at it.
I happen to live in a state house district that was drawn (gerrymandered) to keep one area Democrat and the other Republican. The delegates at the time lived in the same neighborhood, and one could easily throw a ball from one of their backyards to the other.
Would you like to guess where the line for their districts was drawn?
Yep, right there. They kept what they wanted, when they wanted. The people be damned.
There is one district that will always be Democrat. The other will always be Republican.
Always. That’s not a word I use lightly.
These districts will be as gerrymandered today as they will be when Eldridge Gerry’s salamander celebrates its 400th birthday as it is today.
Do you want to know why politicians are not trusted? Gerrymandering. This is why. It’s not about representing you. It’s about power for the politicians.
And Salamanders, like politicians, are still slimy.
