President Romney

Earlier this week, the United States witnessed the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. The event was full of celebrities, progressive idealism, and well rehearsed speeches. And yes, it was the presidential inauguration, not the Academy Awards.

In all seriousness, I am surprised that we have not descended into a state of desolation and hopelessness. Wasn't inflation supposed to make our dollar worthless? Why did jobless claims drop to its lowest level in five years? I was under the belief that Obama was going to tear apart the Constitution and in the process destroy our economy.

Of course that did not happen and probably will not happen. The United States is the most resilient country in the world. We always have overcome adversity while preserving our constitutional rights. Moreover, President Obama has done a great job implementing policies that have helped our economic recovery.

Yet, the GOP still has a problem. A problem that some have analogized to alcoholism. Included in the 12-Step Program for GOP resurgence is the first two steps - admit that there is a problem and go outside of the GOP comfort zone. In other words, stop opposing Obama for the sake of opposing Obama and reach out to minorities.

Even with these two steps laid out, the party decided to take a different approach. On the day of the inauguration and on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, Virginia Republicans voted for a redistricting bill that will maximize GOP seats and reduce Democratic seats. The purpose of the bill is to ensure GOP-dominant districts.

There was also a bit of irony. The vote was was brought when a civil rights leader was absent from the Virginia senate to witness the President's inauguration in person. Henry Marsh, the first black mayor of Richmond and civil rights attorney, was unable to cast a no vote. The bill was passed with a one vote majority, all Republicans. So much for reaching out to minorities.

Gerrymandering is not a new political tactic. It has been a favorite of both parties and it does not serve the interest of the American people. When elected officials redraw congressional districts to favor their own political party, it creates more polarization and facilitates electoral injustice. Furthermore, it gives legislators no incentive to compromise because there is a less of a chance that the incumbent could lose his or her seat.

Swing states throughout the country are considering measures like Virginia. Pennsylvania wants to distribute presidential electoral votes based upon the outcome of each district in the state. Pennsylvania has 18 districts, with 6 of those being comprised of urban voters. If Pennsylvania were to adopt the proposal, Mitt Romney would have won Pennsylvania 12 to 6 despite having lost the popular vote by 5 percent. 

So if you live in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, you can count on the fact that your vote does not count. At least in relation to the voters in more rural districts.

The Presidential election would have been different if all of the republican-controlled swing state legislatures changed their electoral system to the one Pennsylvania is debating. Mitt Romney would have won the electoral college 280-258. President Romney would have been carrying his binders full of women to the White House.

This is not an absurd possibility. It is actually more probable than you would think. In the 2012 election, the American people voted 49 percent to 48.2 percent for Democratic representatives in the House. What was the outcome of the House of Representatives? The Republicans maintained a strong majority. This has only happened three times in one hundred years, wherein the party with more votes ended up in the minority position.

In North Carolina, Democrats received over half of the votes in the state yet the Republicans have 70% of the seats. Democracy at its best.

There is an adage, "If you can't beat them, cheat them." The GOP may have to change its motto to reflect its priorities. Again, there is a road map for the conservative party to re-image and re-brand. But, I can promise you that this is not the right step forward. You cannot simply gerrymander a Romney into the presidency.