Dear State GOP Legislators,
Last week it came to light that all of you, save the Fitzgerald brothers, signed a secrecy agreement with the private law firm, Michael Best and Friedrich, you hired for the purposes of redistricting Wisconsin's congressional districts. Although you all have received flak for taking such an unorthodox action, you all should not take it to heart. In fact, you should feel proud. Wisconsin, once marred by a reputation for open and fair government, can now proudly boast that its leaders would rather leave the public out of the lawmaking process entirely. After all, inclusive democracy is so passé.
You understand that deciding who will vote where is not something in which the voters should actually get input. There is a major misconception that the founders of this great nation intended for voters to choose who will represent them in government. What they actually meant was that politicians should choose the district parameters that will keep them in power for as long as they want it.
It is lucky for all of us that Gov. Scott Walker sanctioned the way in which the redistricting process was carried out. Had we, heaven forbid, elected Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as governor, it would have been a very different story. Barrett proposed using the non-partisan Government Accountability Board to plan out the districts rather than incumbents. Thank the good lord we avoided that atrocity.
Barrett also would have kept the process "transparent." Having an open process implies that what the voters think is important. How ridiculous! Lucky for you, you all had a memo to go by which came up with what was perhaps the line that best encapsulates what this whole year of GOP dominance has been about: "Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments."
So thank you, Wisconsin GOP. Thank you for showing us lowly plebeians that what we think and what we say does not really matter. Thank you for slashing the budgets of schools and health programs while spending $400,000 in taxpayer money for Michael Best and Friedrich's legal fees, which you could have gotten for free if you used Barrett's plan. But most of all, thank you for showing what government is really about: you! Democracy is not about the people. It is about the people who make decisions for other people. We wish you well in the recalls, this whole process will surely help you woo your new specially crafted districts.
Sincerely,
The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board
