Sie ist eine Verliererin, Baby. Warum diese Demokratin ein Rennen führt, von dem sie weiß, dass sie es nicht gewinnen kann | Kate Barr tritt in North Carolina an, um auf das Gerrymandering der Republikaner aufmerksam zu machen

Some article highlights:

>For Barr, losing is the whole point.
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>She rocks campaign shirts with slogans like “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Win,” or simply “LOSER” in all caps. Her campaign website is called KateBarrCantWin.com.
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>Her goal, she says, is to bring attention to the issue of gerrymandering, the process of manipulating electoral boundaries to favour a particular party, candidate or demographic.
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>Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina, she says, has left many voters disenfranchised, because they know their vote won’t make a difference. In essence, she says, politicians are choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their politicians.
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>”I really believe that people need to see on-the-ground experiences related to gerrymandering,” she said. “Voters are supposed to be the ones in charge. That’s what it means for us to have a democracy. And I would like us to have a representative democracy.”
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>…
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>Shawn J. Donahue, a political scientist who studies gerrymandering and voter rights at the University of Buffalo, says this has long been a political issue in the U.S. because, in most states, legislatures are responsible for drawing electoral boundaries.
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>That’s different than in many other democracies around the world, where non-partisan, third-party organizations do this work. In Canada, for example, independent commissions routinely evaluate election boundaries at both the provincial and federal level.
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>But when the party in power is drawing the map, Donahue says it’s a recipe for trouble.
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>…
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>Barr stands out among her colleagues by making gerrymandering the focal point of her run.
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>”I’m the only one who’s running explicitly as someone who can’t win,” she said. “I’m having a pretty good time doing it, just to tell the truth. I don’t know that every candidate would say that, but it’s really fun.”
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>And despite what her sweatshirt says, she doesn’t feel like a loser at all.
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>”One of my neighbour’s daughters was asking her mom why I was running and saying I couldn’t win. She thought it was, like, that I didn’t believe in myself or I wasn’t trying hard. And so her mom taught her about gerrymandering,” she said.
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>The fifth-grader was so horrified by what she learned that Barr says she spent weeks getting people to sign her petition calling for an end to gerrymandering.
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>”And, like, that’s the mission, right?” Barr said. “Honestly, I have already won.”

I love that this person is putting in the work to draw greater attention to this issue, and might even have some fun along the way. Gerrymandering is such a corrosive influence on the electoral system, and should be abolished. Following the lead of other countries that have more or less solved this problem would be a good start: have nonpartisan panels regularly evaluate boundaries based on a number of principles, and redraw when necessary.

It would be hilarious and fitting if this candidate ended up winning in the end though.

Oh my goodness! Kudos to Kate Barr.

That right there is pretty much the definition of Public Service.

If you zoom into the map here https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_State_Senate_District_37 you can see just how they changed her district. Used to include a sizable portion of South Charlotte but the GOP legislature completely moved it to include the tiniest sliver of North Charlotte and then a large rural region north.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sVoglgJjRg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sVoglgJjRg)

Removing gerrymandering is really only going to work if it is eligible as an amendment on a state ballot. But even then, it is like playing whac-a-mole. In Florida, a voting initiative for ex-cons won on the ballot and then was promptly screwed over by the state government. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-florida

She sounds awesome. This is the sort of pressure that isn’t going to pay off immediately, but is absolutely necessary to fix this problem in the long run. I hope she keeps running for office after this.

The real solution is a parliamentary system, not arbitrary boundaries. Unfortunately the founding fathers didn’t leave us much room for fixes.

I love it! When the video ended and it wasn’t edited AT ALL, my initial reaction was “hmmm.” And then I realized she is so real for that! I wish I could vote for her.

[🎵I’m a loser, honey, a schmoozer and a dummy, but at least I know I’m not alone, you’re a loser just like me.🎵](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9sVoglgJjRg)

Man, she’s awesome. Courage!

Michigan did a citizen’s initiative to get the problem on the ballot, then the people solved it. Unfortunately Republicans are catching on to that, and making those more difficult, if not impossible.

She and her website is brilliant. Gerrymandering is a toxic, anti-democratic entity that needs to be eliminated immediately. Of course, the GOP fights tooth and nail against it.

End Gerrymandering now!

As someone running for office this year as a Democrat in a district that voted about 75% for Trump, I think this is awesome! It’s a great idea, would have made my campaign less stressful, lol.

And now, imagine she wins. That would be awesome