Beware the Gerrymander, My Son

JOHN H. FUND

During the sultry summer of 1981, the nation’s political attention was focused on Washington. President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill were locked in fierce combat over the White House’s budget and tax-cut proposals. Reagan ended up winning, and Washington observers predicted a new era of Republican dominance. But as Reagan accepted the cheers of the conservative faithful, 2,500 miles away a rumpled political junkie named Phil Burton was gerrymandering California’s 45 congressional districts to ensure continued Democratic control of the House and help place a decade-long political roadblock in front of the conservative political agenda.

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John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

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JOHN H. FUND

During the sultry summer of 1981, the nation’s political attention was focused on Washington. President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill were locked in fierce combat over the White House’s budget and tax-cut proposals. Reagan ended up winning, and Washington observers predicted a new era of Republican dominance. But as Reagan accepted the cheers of the conservative faithful, 2,500 miles away a rumpled political junkie named Phil Burton was gerrymandering California’s 45 congressional districts to ensure continued Democratic control of the House and help place a decade-long political roadblock in front of the conservative political agenda.