Anyone who’s left MAGA, and anyone who supports our cause, knows that democracy is under attack in America.
We know how a democratic system is supposed to work: voters should select and elect their representatives. But we also know that isn’t how it works nowadays. Thanks to gerrymandering, representatives are selecting their voters.
It’s critical that every American understands gerrymandering: what it is, how it happens, why it happens, and how we can organize to put an end to it. Fortunately, there’s a fantastic new book out about this very topic.
I’m speaking about my friend Rory Riley Topping’s collaboration with Washington correspondent Josh Rultenberg, Draw the Line in Ohio.I’ve just finished reading it myself, and I learned so much. I also wrote an endorsement for it.
GET YOUR COPY OF DRAW THE LINE IN OHIO
The book takes readers inside Ohio’s fight over congressional redistricting and shows, in remarkably accessible terms, how political incentives, courts, ballot initiatives, and elected officials can interact to undermine the basic principle that voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.
What makes the book especially valuable is that Ohio is a case study, not an isolated story. The authors show how the same structural incentives can affect voters across the country and why gerrymandering is ultimately about more than oddly shaped districts. It is about accountability, representation, and whether the rules of democratic competition actually constrain those who hold power.
If you care about understanding how our political system got to where it is — and what citizens can do about it — this is a book worth reading.
GET YOUR COPY OF DRAW THE LINE IN OHIO HERE
Gerrymandering is one of the most salient issues facing Americans today. When we educate ourselves about the intricacies of this process, we arm ourselves against the people attempting to steal our votes, and in turn, our voices.
No political faction has been more aggressive about gerrymandering away our representation than MAGA. That’s because MAGA does not believe in democratic representation for all — only in victory for its side.
As Trump’s approval ratings plummet, we’ve seen him and his allies pull out all the stops to attempt to avoid the oncoming Blue Wave: canceled House votes, legislation to suppress voting rights nationally, attempts to end mail-in voting, and attacks on the Voting Rights Act itself.
For people who once believed in Trump because they believed in standing up to Washington insiders, these actions are diametrically opposed to the campaign promises he once made.
Many people now recognize that the faith they had in Trump to “drain the swamp” was misplaced. Those people often aren’t welcomed in traditional anti-Trump spaces. But they’re more than welcome here at Leaving MAGA.
Thanks for being with us on this odyssey,
Rich
Founder, Leaving MAGA
