The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual.

Gerrymandering has been a part of American politics for at least two centuries. It is accepted by voters and politicians. It is not seen as an evil, and the courts have agreed that at least at some level, partisan gerrymandering is okay. But would it not serve our purposes and our principles better to put redistricting behind us altogether, and give ourselves a system of proportional representation?

This would allow the courts to be satisfied that minorities are able to find representation, and it would allow new parties into the mix, which would likely improve voter turnout, which has been at embarassingly low levels for as long as I can rembmer. We could stop burdening our poor, overworked legislators with the trouble of redrawing the whole state every ten years, and SCOTUS could spend its time on items that are more interesting - maybe something Justice Ginsburg will stay awake through (Jon Henke at QandO asks, "I'm not terribly familiar with judicial ethics, but I suspect that consciousness is a necessary pre-condition for ruling on a case. Will Ginsburg have to recuse herself?")

Other than the fact that the power to do this lies in the hands of exactly the people who would be destroyed by it - incumbent Republicans and Democrats - is there a downside to proportional representation? Is it a downside that is anywhere near what we have to go through with this redistricting nonsense?