Gary Franks: Gerrymandering is like the ‘Hatfield-McCoy’ feud

Maybe it is time to seriously look at having a third political party. Of late both parties have failed us miserably. They both spend money like drunken sailors without paying for their extravaganzas. They each blame the other for all the bad and try to take credit for all the good. They both hide the truth and have given us broken promises.

For instance, Democrats proclaimed that former President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities were good. Really? We saw the debate and other mental blunders with our own eyes. And when Biden said, “We need Congress to help close the border” — well, no. Upon his return to office, President Donald Trump closed the border with Mexico in a flash, in the time it would take to drink a cup of coffee.

Trump 1.0 — Mexico will pay for “the wall.” Really? And now during Trump 2.0 we have tariffs — questionable even if done legally — but the verdict is still out on their effectiveness.

Broken promises? Do not get me started on the “Epstein files” that were supposed to be released in full. Americans are not stupid. Even a military-like takeover of Washington, DC will not work as a distraction. Heck, even starting World War III would not diminish the need to release all the Epstein files without delay (the names of victims being omitted however).

And now we have Republicans and Democrats doing their best imitation of the feud between “the Hatfields and the McCoys.” The hate they hold for each other would only make the father of “hate” smile. For the record, God is love.

Trump and the Republicans in Texas believe that those folks who are registered Republicans and voted that way for a period will always vote GOP regardless of the quality of the candidate. Thus, they would want as many districts that reflect a majority of registered Republicans as possible to give them “automatic” victories in November. Democrats are no better — the latter believe the inverse is true. Clearly there is a need for more choices.

If I believed that people did not have brains and just did what they were told to do or would just follow the crowd — if a registered Republican would always vote Republican and if a registered Democrat would always vote Democrat — I would never have tried to get elected to office.

But Texas Republicans believe that gerrymandering congressional districts will work. I ran repeatedly in Connecticut, in a very Democratic state and region. I was elected six times as a Republican (to the City Council and Congress). I was a conservative Republican in one of the most liberal states in the nation. My voting record by all accounts was solidly conservative. And for all the race mongers out there, I was in a 92% white congressional district as a Black candidate.

How did that happen? Because at least back then people were wise enough to evaluate candidates not based on their political party alone or on the color of their skin, but on their talents, abilities, past achievements and vision. I believe with three candidates equally funded the same would be true today.

Third parties can be spoilers, but for whom? Former Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker won the governor’s position as an Independent or third-party candidate (he formed a party called the Connecticut Party). He beat two congressmen, a Democrat and Republican, in 1990.

Had Ross Perot not split the Republican vote with President George H.W. Bush in 1992, then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton would have never become President Bill Clinton. Clinton did not come close to getting 50% of the popular vote.

When I was the “political aberration,” I had two candidates running against me who were both registered Democrats at one time. I won by 13 points but did not clear 50% of the vote. The large Democratic vote was split.

Texas should heed this warning. The Texas GOP can inadvertently create “moderates” (heaven forbid, I say facetiously) if we have a competitive third-party candidate. With three people running with comparable financial backing, it is anyone’s guess who would win. The Democrat can win in a Republican district with the Republicans splitting the Republican vote or you can see voters reject the two extremes on the left and right and instead go for the more moderate candidate.

How did we get to this polarized state? Let’s look back.

The Brown vs Board of Education decision that helped desegregate America in 1954 reportedly was delayed in order to have concurrence from all the Supreme Court justices, 9-0, so no one could call their decision a “political” one. It helped unify America despite being highly controversial. That represents one for the “good guys.”

Then you had several setbacks to the “we-are-all-one-nation” approach. In 2000 George W. Bush won an election in which he lost the popular vote; and if a thorough statewide recount had been ordered he would have lost the pivotal state of Florida. But we had politics intervene. Supreme Court justices appointed by Republican presidents outnumbered those chosen by Democratic presidents. As fate would have it, the justices supported the political party that gave them their jobs. A recount in Florida was ended before it included the entire state. Bush won.

And today many believe that the Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump would gladly carry his water whenever asked to do so. For the sake of our Constitution and the future of America, let us all pray that a similar situation does not come to pass. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, our political polarization persists. Democratic and Republican leaders believe and have trained people to believe that the party with the most “marbles” will rule without compromise or the consideration of those with differing views.

Is this approach good for America? Hell no! But today’s politicians do not care. They justify their actions by saying the other side would do the same to them or have already done the same to them.

And that is the primary reason why we need to let the “Hatfields and McCoys” have their “forever feud” all by themselves. The American people need an alternative — a third party. That will force politicians to truly court all the people, not just those in their own political party.

The third party should only target key congressional districts and Senate races so the maximum funding can be given to viable third-party candidates.

The end result will be the creation of political moderates, who have been exiled in recent decades. Working with each other, not abhorring each other, would become the new norm.

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Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut's 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast "We Speak Frankly." garyfranksphilanthropy.org.