In 1796, George Washington warned in his Farewell Address that the rise of political factions could tear apart the young Republic, predicting that "the spirit of party" would lead to "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men" manipulating the system for power, fostering division and eroding trust in governance. His words ring alarmingly true today as hyper-partisan gerrymandering, particularly by the Left in states like California, New York, Illinois, and Maryland, threatens the democratic process. While both political extremes engage in this practice, the aggressive tactics of leftist-led redistricting in 2025 exemplify a dangerous escalation, undermining fair representation and fueling political tribalism.
Gerrymandering, the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor one party, distorts the will of the electorate. In 2025, California’s Democrat leadership, under Governor Gavin Newsom, has pushed a brazen plan to redraw the state’s 52 congressional districts to secure at least five additional Democrat seats. Newsom frames this as a counter to Republican gerrymandering in states like Texas, claiming it protects democracy.
Yet, this tit-for-tat escalation, enabled by a legislative package set for a November 2025 special election, risks entrenching Democrat dominance regardless of voter sentiment. The proposal’s loophole—allowing activation if any state, including blue states like Illinois, redistricts—reveals its true intent: power consolidation, not fairness.
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul has signaled a similar willingness to “fight fire with fire,” preparing to counter Republican redistricting with aggressive map-drawing to favor Democrats. In Illinois, Democrats, who already dominate the state legislature, are poised to further manipulate congressional and state legislative maps to cement their grip, building on past successes where they secured 82% of congressional seats despite winning only 59% of the 2020 presidential vote. Maryland’s infamous “praying mantis” 3rd Congressional District, a contorted map designed to favor Democrats, remains a stark example of how far partisans will go to rig elections, with plans in 2025 to double down on such tactics.
These efforts extend beyond Congress to state legislatures, where gerrymandering entrenches party control over local policy. In California, Democrats’ supermajority in the state legislature faces little challenge due to carefully crafted districts that pack Republican voters into uncompetitive zones. Illinois and Maryland follow suit, with Democrat-drawn maps diluting opposition votes through “packing” and “cracking”—concentrating rival voters into a few districts or spreading them thinly across many to minimize their influence. This manipulation ensures that state-level policies, from education to taxation, reflect the ruling party’s agenda rather than a balanced representation of the electorate.
Both parties are guilty of gerrymandering, but the Left’s 2025 maneuvers stand out for their audacity and scale. Republicans in Texas and Florida have drawn maps to secure marginally unearned seats, yet Democrats’ response in Blue states is not defensive but opportunistic, exploiting their control to maximize power. This cycle of mutually assured gerrymandering, as described by scholars, risks a “race to the bottom” where competitive districts vanish, and elections become foregone conclusions. The result is a Congress and state legislatures that cater to partisan extremes, sidelining moderates and independents who represent the broader American center.
Washington’s warning about factionalism is chillingly prescient here. He cautioned that political parties, driven by “the alternate domination of one faction over another,” would prioritize power over the public good, leading to “disorders and miseries” that could invite authoritarianism. Hyper-partisan gerrymandering embodies this threat, as it allows politicians to choose their voters, not vice versa, eroding the core democratic principle of representation. By creating safe districts, parties incentivize extremism, as candidates pander to their base rather than seeking consensus. This fuels polarization, reduces voter turnout, and erodes trust in institutions, as citizens feel their votes are meaningless. It also facilitates performative politics by which unqualified people run for office on feigned outrage for purely opportunistic reasons (think AOC, Jasmine Crockett, and the whole of The Squad).
The harm is evident in data. In California, Democrats’ proposed maps could yield 48 of 52 congressional seats, far exceeding their vote share. In Illinois, gerrymandering has already produced a congressional delegation that misaligns with statewide voting patterns. Such distortions mean that a party receiving fewer votes can secure disproportionate power, undermining the “one person, one vote” principle that propagandistic Democrats are so fond of trotting out whenever an election doesn’t go their way. State legislatures, equally skewed, pass laws that reflect partisan priorities rather than public will, from restrictive voting measures to unchecked spending to legislation that defies federal authority. This dysfunction, as Washington foresaw, risks public disillusionment and the collapse of cooperative governance.
To break this cycle, we must remove human bias from redistricting. Perhaps a pure AI-tasked algorithm, designed to prioritize population equality, compactness, and contiguity while ignoring partisan data, offers a solution. Unlike partisan legislatures or even bipartisan commissions, which can deadlock or compromise fairness, an AI-driven process could generate maps that reflect demographic realities, not political agendas. Studies show that computer-generated maps, tested against millions of alternatives, can produce fairer outcomes, reducing bias and restoring competitive elections. For example, the Define-Combine Procedure, where parties divide and pair districts, has shown promise in simulations, yielding maps closer to proportional representation.
Politicians must abandon tribalism and return to serving the people, not their parties. Gerrymandering, whether by the Left or Right, betrays the public trust Washington urged us to protect. By adopting AI-driven redistricting, states can ensure that voters choose their representatives, not the other way around. This reform would honor Washington’s vision of a Republic free from factional tyranny, fostering a democracy where ideas, not power grabs, prevail.
Condemning political tribalism and embracing impartial systems is not just a practical necessity—it’s a moral imperative to preserve the Republic for future generations.
Then, when we return, our segment on America’s Third Watch, broadcast nationally from our flagship station WGUL AM860 & FM93.7 in Tampa, Florida.
In Closing…
As we close today’s episode, I wanted to mention something that happened in Scotland recently, where a 14-year-old girl was arrested for brandishing bladed weapons—a long-knife and an axe—in defense of her sister, 12, as a Bulgarian immigrant, in country for four years, refused commands to “leave them alone.” It is unclear why the immigrant was filming the minor children (one can only suppose); nevertheless, the act obviously moved the children to feel threatened enough to feel they had to defend themselves.
The fact that authorities arrested the child, indicating they believed the child was the perpetrator, rather than detaining and questioning the immigrant about why he was filming minor children—especially in a time when child trafficking, sex slavery of children, and immigrant rape gangs target young females—is emblematic of the ideological cancer that had infested ur societies.
If our children are compromised to the point of being arrested for defending themselves–even if it turns out to be a misunderstanding, then we as a species have lost our way completely. An adult’s right to film children shouldn’t supersede a child’s right to feel safe.
I applaud the 14-year-old for having the courage to stand up to an adult in an effort to protect her sister. If only more adults had the courage to step up when crap like this is happening…
I just needed to get that off my chest.
In closing, let’s reflect on George Washington’s warning: political factions threaten our Republic’s soul. Hyper-partisan gerrymandering, especially the Left’s aggressive 2025 tactics in California, New York, Illinois, and Maryland, distorts democracy, rigging elections and fueling tribalism. Both sides are guilty, but the cycle must end. Imagine a future where an AI-driven algorithm redraws districts fairly, free from partisan greed, ensuring voters, not politicians, hold the power. Let’s demand leaders serve the people, not parties, and reject the division Washington feared.
Until next time…
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