The newly redrawn Tennessee congressional districts may be many things but describing them as fair, legal, defensible, and an accurate reflection of the will of the state’s voters is like saying the Grand Canyon is a ditch.
I watched in disbelief as President Donald Trump directed Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to undertake immediate redistricting after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling struck down race-based district lines in Louisiana last week.
Before the call was barely finished Governor Lee gathered the Tennessee legislature to hurriedly redraw our lines, despite the fact we were in the midst of election season.
Our beautiful state got diced and sliced into unrecognizable fragments with little or no concern for local representation, community voices, needs/interests, accountability, or oversight.
I may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night, and if you take away my vote’s significance, at least have the guts to admit “I don’t give a ____ what you think, what you want, or how you want it done. I just want power.”
I’d be angry and respect your honesty but please don’t pour water on my head and tell me it’s raining.
I’ve lived in Tennessee almost 70 years and every place I’ve lived was full of friendly folks, so mean, nasty Tennesseans are not the worry or issue.
Our 95 counties, nine congressional districts, and three grand divisions don’t divide us — they simply give us different perspectives.
Whether it’s how to pronounce our hometown’s name or identifying ancestors, movers and shakers—being representative of us is important and critical, and, if/when it’s done well, it’s not for the faint hearted.
These high-level discussions need time, intentionality, clear minds, cool heads, prayer, contemplation, and collaboration, not one upmanship.
Growing up in rural Haywood County I’ve seen, heard, spoken, and written about voting power often so when you start messing around with my vote, my voice, or my choices, trust me, this won’t end well.
My mother shared how she and her neighbors stood in line in the 1959-1960s blazing sun for weeks to get registered to vote, so I’ve voted every election since I was 18.
I was taught that this right was sacred and had been paid for with blood and sacrifice.
If Democrats were doing the same thing, I’d be irate about that too.
Brave people fought and died so every person, regardless of sexual orientation, religion, race, class—everybody, could have representation.
In Tennessee, an entire population of voters could have their right to effective representation diminished and interrupted by this jacked-up redrawing of congressional lines.
Nobody, not Mr. Trump or Mr. Lee explained how this redistricting helps citizens, who are already suffering from partisan politics at almost every level of the government, improve their lot.
The Edmund Burke quote “…the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good *people to do nothing,” is a gentle reminder that we, the people, are not victims in this redistricting madness but are instead powerful when we raise our voices to make sure right makes might and evil doesn’t triumph.
This messy redistricting is round one of what feels like an assault on voting and representation rights nationwide.
I pray we (1) stay vigilant in our efforts to elect candidates who want to serve and who we know and trust; and (2) elect those who know party politics, getting re-elected, and constituency care are not the same thing, no matter how weirdly your district gets drawn.
