Is It Time to Slay the Gerrymander?
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Despite the major issues facing America, tonight's State of the Union Address will likely be followed by Congressional gridlock. Do the Republicans have a bigger majority than they deserve? Is gerrymandering the reason that ideology is making consensus so hard? Also, North Korea tests another nuclear device, and the LAPD legacy makes the Dorner case more than just a manhunt.
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Making News
North Korea Tests a Nuclear Device ()
North Korea performed its third test of a nuclear device today, after threatening to do so for months. South Korean officials estimated the size of the explosion yield as six to seven kilotons – half the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. David Sanger is chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times.
Guests:
- David Sanger: New York Times, @SangerNYT
Links:
Main Topic
Gerrymandering and Political Gridlock on Capitol Hill ()
Republicans warned about voter fraud in last year's elections, while Democrats said the big threat to a fair outcome was voter ID. But the real crime was gerrymandering, the re-drawing of Congressional district boundaries so that Republicans got a much bigger majority than they deserved. That's according to a Princeton scientist who wants the task of reapportionment every ten years transferred from state legislatures to independent commissions. Are the Red States of the South less Red than they appear to be? Is gerrymandering the reason Congress can't get anything done?
Guests:
- Sam Wang: Princeton Election Consortium, @SamWangPhD
- Anita Earls: Southern Coalition for Social Justice, @scsj
- Tom Donlan: Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly, @barronsonline
- Eric McGhee: Public Policy Institute of California, @hezaproject
Links:
- Republican State Leadership Committee's Red Map
- Wang on 'the great gerrymander of 2012'
- Donlan on the imbalance in the House of Representatives
- Southern Coalition for Social Justice on why the Voting Rights Act makes sense
- McGhee on the history of the House votes-seats discrepancy
- McGhee on California's new electoral reforms
Reporter's Notebook
LAPD Legacy Makes Dorner Case More than Just a Manhunt ()
Fired police officer Christopher Dorner is charged with on murdering one cop and he's threatened many more. A thousand of the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI and other agencies are hunting for him. Two cases of mistaken identity ended in police shooting up cars, and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck now says he'll personally review Dorner's dismissal to make sure there's no validity to his claims.
Guests:
- Sandy Banks: Los Angeles Times
- Jasmyne Cannick: social and political commentator, @jasmyne
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