(ThyBlackMan.com) MS NOW commentator Ali Velshi was not alone in complaining that women are “underrepresented” in Congress. It is true that women account for 51% of the U.S. population but only 29% of the House members.
To which I say, “So what.”
Basing the notion of fair representation on racial, gender or ethnic identity needs to be put in a folder — a paper folder stored in a dusty steel file cabinet. Most of us have additional identities — as electricians, teachers, environmentalists, grandparents, bus drivers, stock investors, union members.
Who would represent me under this broader definition? Someone with brown hair who streams a lot of true crime, has too many opinions and used to play the flute. That perfect human being has yet to appear on my ballot. If she did, I might not vote for her anyway if we disagreed on tariffs, green energy and immigration.
The Founders designed a republic in which representatives would debate ideas, not their reflection in a bathroom mirror. Besides, people of similar physical identities disagree on lots of things, including matters tied to identity.
This DNA-based notion of “fair representation” comes up in the thorny matter of redistricting, that is, the redrawing of House districts in ways that would allegedly help one party. Donald Trump kicked off the latest round. Panicky that Democrats might swamp the midterms, he’s pushed Republican-controlled states to change the lines to remove “safe” Democratic districts, or so he thinks. Democratic-controlled states countered with their own gerrymandering.
Trump was responding to a recent Supreme Court ruling, Louisiana v. Callais, which weakened limits in the Voting Rights Act on race-based redistricting. He apparently believes that dividing Blacks among majority-white districts would leave them too small a share of the vote to elect their preferred candidate. The assumption under that assumption is that Black voters agree on who should represent them.
Consider the lively primary race in a newly redrawn South Florida district. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, decided to run in a largely Black district after Gov. Ron DeSantis helped erase her own district lines.
“A lot of people in the community are angry,” says Dale Holness, a former Broward County commissioner who is African American. By community, we assume he means the “Black community.”
But he does not entirely speak for “the community,” even by his definition. Many of these constituents have interests beyond the race of their representative. Issues like Social Security, medical coverage, abortion, the war with Iran, gasoline prices.
John Beckford, a Broward business leader originally from Jamaica, is Black. He said that Schultz has “always been a part of the African American, Black community, the Caribbean community. It’s not like she’s now a stranger trying to make herself known.”
Business owners and other voters of all colors might want to retain a rep who is a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which sends federal money to the districts. That interest might double in the likely event that Democrats take control of the House in the midterms.
Opponents of the current Republican leadership tactics hold that the redistricting mania will lead to less “representation” of black voters. But others argue the exact opposite, and they include Republicans.
The partisans who think they are cleverly scattering Black voters into white-majority districts would also be increasing the Black voters’ clout in those same districts. That can make a difference in close races, especially as political allegiances continue to splinter.
History should also have its say. A Black man was elected U.S. president twice by a majority white electorate. There are reasons to support a candidate other than resemblance to self. And those tend to be the better reasons.
Written by Froma Harrop
Official website; https://twitter.com/FromaHarrop
