It doesn't get much more clear cut than this. Republicans have asked Democrats to draw a bi-partisan map together in public. Democrats have refused and instead are rushing to push their map drawn by shady Democrat operatives behind closed doors into a bill that will never pass.
They are looking to continue the childish games of one-upsmanship, even after newspapers across the state (including the Boulder Daily Camera!) have chastised them for their games.
After Republicans practically begged Democrats to stop their games and start drawing together, Democrats decided to pull the plug, with Senator Rollie "Mr Burns" Heath issuing a press release basically ending any hopes of bipartisan compromise in the committee.
It is now becoming more clear than ever that the bipartisan committee commissioned to travel the state seeking public input on the map and draw one together was just a political tool for Democrats. They wanted political cover to claim bipartisanship when their real goal was to send this map to the courts all along. Knowing that the Supreme Court is stacked with Democrat appointees, the Dems never really planned on engaging in an honest manner from the get-go.
Why else would they have proposed such a laughably un-passable map?
This is a sad state of affairs. The courts are not accountable to the people. With such a political process it is essential that an elected body draw the maps in the open, ensuring public oversight and accountability to the people whose homes are being shifted into different districts.
Senator Brophy, who sits on the redistricting committee, said it best:
“Republicans stand ready to draw a bipartisan map that reflects the wishes as expressed by the overwhelming testimony and email input of the people of Colorado. We have the time, technology and ability to do this transparently.”
Democrats beg to differ. They prefer to take their Julie Wells-drafted district map and try to push it through the Legislature, knowing full well it won't pass so they can claim they tried their best at getting it passed outside the courts.
The press should make it clear in their stories about the Democrats impending bill for their map that there is no chance of success. It is just another cynical ploy.
We say: Draw the damn map and do it in public.
And now Democrats are introducing a bill to draw out the process longer to give them more time to buy a map, as if they’re the reasonable ones. Here they are, wasting time, pussy-footing around drawing a real map in committee, and then turning around the next day asking for more time. It’s just disingenuous. I’m so frustrated with this entire thing. They should have done it right the first time. I think they actually want the task to fall to the Courts, because Lord knows they’ve got control there, too. They’re going to get their way.