Redistricting has become the most important issue in our state. Upon losing one congressional seat after the 2000 census report, districts must be redrawn to reduce the state from five congressional districts to four, and two redistricting plans have come to the forefront. The boot plan, favored by House Speaker Tim Ford, and the block plan, favored by Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, are both stirring controversy. The main difference between the two plans is that one favors Democrat Ronnie Shows and the other favors Republican Chip Pickering. The boot plan, which is said to favor Shows, creates a 38 percent black voting age population while the block plan creates a 34 percent black voting age population.
According to an editorial written by Bill Minor in Sunday’s The Clarion-Ledger, if a match-up between Pickering and Shows has at least a 39 percent black voting age population, Shows will win. If the black voters represent 35 percent or less, Pickering will win.
While predictions on both sides are highly stereotypical, assuming that African-Americans will always vote Democratic, there may be validity in the prediction that Shows will win in a district that has a larger black voting age population.
Being that Shows is the Democratic candidate, one would think our state’s high-profile Democrats would support a district that favors his election. Unfortunately for our state’s Democratic Party, that is not the case. Tuck is very vocal in her support of the block plan, which favors Pickering.
Tuck should be ashamed. She is doing a great disservice to her party and all Mississippians. Someone needs to bop her one good time on her tail and force her to get her act together. All summer, we, the citizens of this great state, watched Tuck battlewith Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, and now, we are watching her battle with House Speaker Tim Ford. Someone needs to remind her that she is a Democrat and that we elected her to serve the interests of the people of Mississippi and not those of the Republican Party. It is obvious that Tuck is trying to expand her sphere of influence to garner support from Republicans. Tuck’s actions have made it clear there is a good chance that she will run for governor in the next gubernatorial election. Her actions are obvious attempts to reach out to Republicans and gain their support in the event that she should change parties. I realize that politics is a game, but I do not want Tuck to jeopardize the welfare of my state while playing her hand.
Congressional redistricting is a very important issue in our nation. With a very fragile majority being held in Congress between the country’s major parties, every seat counts. Tuck, more than anyone, should know that and should be doing her part to represent her party and her state.
– Zackory Kirk