Steve Kraske hits it out of the ballpark yet again

I tell you, for wanting to know and follow what goes on in this state on a power and political level, Steve Kraske's column on Sunday in The Kansas City Star has become, I think, a statewide necessity.

This week, he tells of the intelligence of our neighbors to the North, Iowa, and how they have chosen to take redistricting--very, very wisely--out of the hands of politicians who have great things to win and/or lose from it and to put it, instead, in the hands of bureaucrats so the power falls to the people--the voters of the states, regardless of the winners or losers:

Redistricting can be heavenly — just ask Iowa

Published on Sat Apr 23 22:15:00 CDT 2011

These days, Iowa is looking positively heavenly in contrast to all the political shenanigans in Jefferson City over the drawing of new congressional lines.

Besides Iowans' doing the right, smart thing about redistricting, Mr. Kraske also points out how allowing politicians to redistrict leads to gerrymandering and ugly, vicious partisanship:

There’s a danger here that Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa fully understands: “We can have some pride in the fact that Iowa has a system for reapportionment that is fair, that really gives the people an opportunity to choose their congressmen … in a competitive system that isn’t really designed to skew it in favor of one party or the other.”

He added: “You look around the rest of the country. There are very few competitive congressional districts … and there are a lot of people who think the extreme partisanship we see on the national level is somewhat caused by the partisan reapportionment that goes on.”

Translated, he means this: Safe incumbents feel little pressure to move to the middle — on anything. All they have to do is play to their liberal or conservative bases.

Do that in state after state after state and you wind up with a polarized Congress split between lefties and righties. There is no middle.

Additionally, it needs, importantly, to be pointed out that when you combine statewide political partisanship with people relying on Fox "News" (or Faux News, as it's also called), you end up with people of two extreme ends of the political spectrum and not enough people aware of what we need to do for the good of the country, overall, instead of their own narrow interests.

It merely foments ugliness, arguments and shouting each other down.
The other day I posted a complimentary note about Iowa and Iowans.


I couldn't quite place the reason, at the time, for my respect for them.


Then this reminded me.


More Missourians need to learn and be aware of this kind of intelligence.


Then we need to follow their lead--and as soon as possible.


As I so frequently say here, here's hoping.

Link:  http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/23/2821217/redistricting-can-be-heavenly.html#storylink=misearch