His look must appeal to the witness protection program folks in Blackhawk, California

I was watching the local news last night and was kind of shocked to see the Republican House member Richard Pombo. The guy was an out-and-out dolt but apparently in a “safe” district and nearly impossible to unseat because of gerrymandering. I then looked at the shape of the ridiculous 11th District.

Check out this district where none of the constituents have anything in common. And the group is carefully chosen from 4 separate counties. This is California corruption at its finest. And the result? This guy Pombo. He wears wife-beaters. Looks like a refugee from the Sopranos cast. And he sounds like a teenage boy when he tries to talk. Yet he is odds-on favorite to win re-election in this ludicrous district. Of course Gerrymandering only works because the voters let it work by voting without thought. A good way to end all this is to eschew party affiliation and become an independent. The whole country suffers from this phenomenon. You see the result. IN California it is extreme.

From the excellent Wikipedia entry on Gerrymandering:

In an unusual occurrence in 2000, for example, the two dominant parties in the state of California cooperatively redrew both state and federal legislative districts to preserve the status quo, ensuring the electoral safety of the politicians from possible unpredictable voting by the electorate. This move proved completely effective, as no State or Federal legislative office changed party in the 2004 election, with 53 congressional, 20 state senate, and 80 state assembly seats potentially at risk.

And what’s this image all about?