Every ten years as dictated under the US Constitution, the federal government is to take a census of the population of the United States.  From that data collected, the states are then to decide how the different Congressional districts and statehouse districts are to be drawn.  As a result, every ten years there is a heated political debate, charges of racial preference/indifference, political deal making, and political trickery.

Illinois' new maps, both statehouse and Congressional, are an prime example of politics at its best.  The GOP picked up seats in the Congressional delegation the last election and the Democrats in Springfield rewrote the district lines in an attempt to draw out some of the new Congressmen from their newly won seats. 

As a result of redistricting, several State Reps and State Senators have to decide whether to run in their new districts, or move to a new district that is politically more viable for them to run in to get re-elected. 

I got into a bit of a tussle with a hard-core GOP friend of ours this weekend regarding the new districts.  I agreed with her that the districts were politically drawn to the detriment of the GOP, but we disagreed that it was wrong that there are current State Reps and State Senators who feel it is perfectly fine to move 30 miles or more in order to run in a new district, just to get re-elected. 

She retorted that it is state law and therefore perfectly fine since many of those State Reps and State Senators are "good conservatives" and "good legislators" and she said "besides, it's state law that they are allowed to do so if they are redistricted out of their current district". 

Who cares if they were gerrymandered out of their district!  Would we tolerate a US Representative running for a district he or she does not live in?  In case you didn't know, there is NO requirement for US Representatives to actually live in their district they represent, just the state of the district they represent.  It's a law, actually no; it's a Constitutional requirement for the office of US Representative.  Does it make it right if someone tried to run for US Representative but lived out of district they were running?  No, but we tolerate it on the state level because it's law that someone got gerrymandered out of their district?  I don't.

As a result of "state law" and the redistricting process, we see carpetbagging - the process of picking up and moving to a new district to run - here in our backyard to the north. 

The new IL House District 102 was drawn as an open district.  As I write this, there are 4 different people intending to run for State Rep in the new 102.  More might show up for the fight, but as of right now, there are only 4.  One of those 4 is current State Rep. Adam Brown of Decatur. 

State Rep. Adam Brown is one of the young gun conservatives in Springfield right now, but that should not matter.  The fact is that Brown intends to move a few miles so that he can be in the new 102 and then run for office as per "state law". 

One of the real problems I have with carpetbaggers is that the party leadership tends to attempt to clear the field for their boy or girl who decides they want to keep office.  Phone calls (some very threatening - not violent, but the type of calls that are meant to scare any challenger out of the race) are made, emails sent, county chairmen buttered up like a roll, etc.  When we rail against career politicians, why do we tolerate this kind of behavior from the party leadership, elected officials, elected colleagues, and county chairmen?  Aren't primaries supposed to be hands off?  Don't worry, I'm not that naive - I remember all too well the anointing of Mark Kirk by the GOP leadership and the GOP county chairmen.

So I have a problem with carpetbagging and I also have a problem with pressure being placed on challengers who which to run against said carpetbaggers.  Pitiful me that I would like to see the people decide who they want to represent them.  As long as those on the ballot filed their paperwork correctly, crossed their Ts and dotted their Is, then who should tell them to get out of the way for the "chosen ones"?

I hate gerrymandering, but it does not excuse carpetbagging in my humble opinion.  Let the voters decide.  Stop career politicians.  Primaries are good exercises in democracy.  Besides, I think most of us believe we need fresh people in Springfield and DC anyway.
 
Update: as I was writing this, I was informed by a friend that one of the probable challengers in the new House District 102 has decided against running.  I'm sure he came to that decision all by his lonesome.  Yeah...right.