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284: Should we redraw state lines?

This image of gerrymandering was generated by Open AI
This image of gerrymandering was generated by Open AI
The boys drink and review a 2-year old bottle of Raison D’Extra, then discuss proposals to redraw state boundaries.

They start off with a review of federalism, and the idea that the country is a collection of states, not simply a mass of people, which is why tiny Rhode Island and sparsely populated Montana get as many senators as California.

What happens when residents of a state feel they don’t fit in that state?

The idea is being tested in Oregon, where the conservative, agricultural residents of the majority of the state differ drastically from the urban liberals in Portland. They’d rather join up with Idaho.

A similar thing is going on in Maryland, where the conservative eastern and western ends of the state don’t feel represented by the liberals in Annapolis.

But where does this end? Do county lines need to be redrawn? City lines? Neighborhoods?

The solution is not to keep redrawing lines, but to respect minority rights and making most political issues as local as possible.

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