“Without the use of my muscles, my super-strength is useless!” – Superman
Superman had it right.
When voters don’t use our vote, then our powers are useless. That’s why we started the Justice League PAC – to close the “enthusiasm gap,” to re-energize voters of all ages but especially young voters, and to bring a bit of humor into this campaign season. Our slogan is “finding the superhero in all of us.” It’s up to each of us to turn on our superhero powers – talking to your neighbors, learning about the candidates, and getting yourself and others out to vote.
Diane Denish and Susana Martinez are duking it out right now like Batman versus the Joker. Their battlefield is on the issues, as it should be – the economy, jobs, schools, ethics, health care. You can hear the “pows” and “bams” busting out of your TV every 60 seconds!
They are the candidates, and they should be duking it out. But we are not, so we’re able to have a slightly different focus, and that focus, for us, is redistricting, like in our video.
As it turns out, this governor’s race is not about just the next four years – it’s about the next 10. Whoever New Mexico’s voters elect to be our next governor will sign or veto redistricting, which will have more impact on the next 10 years of elections and subsequent policies than perhaps any other single factor.
And that’s precisely why electing Diane Denish this November is so important.
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“Picus refused you. Glaucus refused you. Odysseus refused you. Telemachus ran off with your son, denied you because you’re a hateful witch who didn’t deserve their love. Lex Luthor denied you and the Cheetah will no doubt abandon you, because you’ve tortured and frightened and tried to destroy anyone who’s ever loved you.” – Wonder Woman
And now we’re talking about Tom Delay.
Every 10 years, once the Census comes out, each state is required by law to adjust its political boundaries to equalize the number of people in each district. New Mexico will engage in this process, called “redistricting,” in 2011. Cities and counties will redistrict their council and commission seats, and the state Legislature will redistrict all legislative seats, our congressional districts, the Public Regulation Commission and other geographically-based districts.
There are lots of federal laws that govern this process, many of which live in the Voting Rights Act, to protect “communities of interest” and traditionally disenfranchised populations.
Why are those protections in place? Pretty much for people like Tom Delay. Delay, as you may recall, was an aggressively Republican congressman from Texas who was indicted for money laundering, and also appeared on Dancing with the Stars this year. In the summer of 2003, he led an unusual effort to conduct redistricting in the middle of the decade because Republicans had just picked up control of their state Legislature.
As a side note, you may also recall that 11 Democratic Texas legislators came to New Mexico to protest this curious and sneaky move. They became known as the “Texas Eleven.”
To make a long story short, the Washington Post reported in 2005, “Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay violated the Voting Rights Act…” It continued, “the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts.” Finally, The Post stated that Justice Department lawyers “found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.”
These Texas tricks could happen again in New Mexico, if Republican Susana Martinez is elected. She’s also from Texas, and that’s not the only thing she shares in common with Tom Delay. For both of them, Republican Texas developer Bob Perry is one of their biggest contributors. Perry, who self-financed the infamous Swift Boat ads, was the single biggest contributor to Delay’s political action committee, and also gave $450,000 to Susana Martinez this year. See our comic for more details.
Redistricting, done properly, is the best way to guarantee equal and fair representation for low-income and Hispanic communities in New Mexico. Left to their own devices, Republicans will do just what Tom Delay tried to do, before he was indicted and the Supreme Court stepped in.
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Batman: “Better put 5 cents in the meter.”
Robin: “No policeman’s going to give the Batmobile a ticket.”
Batman: “This money goes to building better roads. We all must do our part.”
So what if a Republican governor gerrymanders the heck out of New Mexico. Why does it matter? It matters because gerrymandered districts create gerrymandered priorities – Republican priorities. So if you want to see vouchers instead of funding for public schools; more predatory lending; more tax cuts for the wealthiest New Mexicans; and less money for roads, schools, firefighters and trash pickup, then you’re right – this election doesn’t matter.
But if you think that 10 years of elections resulting in 10 years of policies is important, then join us.
To reinvigorate politics and force the political dialogue to change, we can’t just rely upon charismatic leaders. We need to find the superhero in each of us – to be inspired and inspire, to act, and act together, and to be political activists in the truest sense of the word. Together, we can control the terms of the debate, with our own feet, our own pocketbooks and our own voices.
Sandra Wechsler, Eli Il Yong Lee, and Neri Holguin are the co-founders of The Justice League PAC. You can find its comics, get more information and learn how to help out and donate at justiceleaguepac.com.