With all due respect, this gerrymandered district is very ideological and fixated on things that preserve their preferences, power and status. Thankfully, its middle class enough to demand some competence in government but not independent enough to demand major needed schools and taxation reform, inter alia. Perhaps their kids and grand kids will.
Arthur, I appreciate your perspective, and I want to respond in the same generous spirit. I do have to disagree with the idea that Maryland’s 5th Congressional District is “gerrymandered,” because when you look closely at the map and the surrounding counties, it’s actually one of the cleanest and most logically drawn districts in the state.
The 5th is geographically coherent in a way that many Maryland districts simply are not. It includes all of Southern Maryland — Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s — plus the adjacent portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel that naturally connect to that region. There’s no strange shape, no contorted lines, no “dragon‑like” geometry. It’s a straightforward district that reflects real communities of interest.
If anything, it’s hard to imagine how you could draw a more fair or logical version of the district. If you look at the counties around it:
- There are no Republican‑leaning areas of Prince George’s County outside the part already in MD‑05.
- Calvert and St. Mary’s are already fully included.
- Charles is fully included.
- The portion of Anne Arundel that’s in the district is the most Republican‑leaning part of that county.
- If the district moved north in Anne Arundel, it would actually pick up more Democrats, not fewer.
In other words, the map already contains every Republican‑leaning area that is geographically adjacent and logically connected. The only way to add more Republicans would be to create a cross‑Bay district that combines Southern Maryland with the lower Eastern Shore — which is exactly the kind of design people usually criticize as gerrymandering.
The political balance of the district isn’t the result of map manipulation. It’s the result of the underlying demographics:
- Black middle‑class suburbs in Prince George’s
- Rural Black and white communities in Southern Maryland
- Federal workers, commuters, and long‑established families
Those groups tend to vote the way they vote regardless of how the lines are drawn.
So while I respect your view, the evidence really does point in the opposite direction: MD‑05 is one of the most straightforward, logically constructed districts in Maryland, and its partisan makeup reflects the people who live there, not any kind of engineered map.
Barry- thank you so much for this extensive and detailed response, which is beyond refute. The lack of democracy in Maryland is manifested in closed primaries, the lack of run offs, the 1st-past-the-post system and of course election finance systems favoring incumbents. I happen to support an end to single member districts entirely and moving towards a proportional elections system as is common overseas. Indeed, one of the more famous was designed by Thomas Jefferson! The very nature of our primary system encourages a very low turnout. (My Rep. in the 3rd "won" with 15% of the vote......) Thus, your analysis of the 5th is spot on, more's the pity. Whites, independents, libertarians need not apply. As you can imagine, I thought the recent SCOTUS opin. in Calais was long overdue and a necessary corrective to abuses but, again, lets hope single member districts are replaced. Thank you once again for your reply and kudos on the excellence of your analysis.
Your point about proportional systems and the Jeffersonian model is well taken; those ideas deserve a far more serious hearing in Maryland than they usually get. The combination of closed primaries, single‑member districts, and first‑past‑the‑post rules produces exactly the low‑turnout, low‑choice outcomes you’re describing.
I’m especially interested in the Jefferson design you referenced — it’s remarkable how many of the structural solutions we need now were already sketched out two centuries ago. And proportional representation, in one form or another, would go a long way toward addressing the distortions we see in districts like the 5th.
Thanks again for the thoughtful engagement. It’s good to see these conversations moving toward substance.
Substance? Why our esteemed Governor is seemingly incapable of packaging his back story and military service in transparent, candid form....oops, I digress. You are very magnanimous and gracious. You must be a professor....given your obvious erudition. Thank you kindly for your interest in being open to sensible options. Namaste. Arthur
incisive analysis. i’ve known Wala since the days she worked for Tom Perez when he ran for Attorney General. No liberal wallflower himself, Tom lit a flame in Wala that burns far too hot for the 5th District. Maybe when Raskin retires, she might find herself over to the 8th district.
With all due respect, this gerrymandered district is very ideological and fixated on things that preserve their preferences, power and status. Thankfully, its middle class enough to demand some competence in government but not independent enough to demand major needed schools and taxation reform, inter alia. Perhaps their kids and grand kids will.
Arthur, I appreciate your perspective, and I want to respond in the same generous spirit. I do have to disagree with the idea that Maryland’s 5th Congressional District is “gerrymandered,” because when you look closely at the map and the surrounding counties, it’s actually one of the cleanest and most logically drawn districts in the state.
The 5th is geographically coherent in a way that many Maryland districts simply are not. It includes all of Southern Maryland — Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s — plus the adjacent portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel that naturally connect to that region. There’s no strange shape, no contorted lines, no “dragon‑like” geometry. It’s a straightforward district that reflects real communities of interest.
If anything, it’s hard to imagine how you could draw a more fair or logical version of the district. If you look at the counties around it:
- There are no Republican‑leaning areas of Prince George’s County outside the part already in MD‑05.
- Calvert and St. Mary’s are already fully included.
- Charles is fully included.
- The portion of Anne Arundel that’s in the district is the most Republican‑leaning part of that county.
- If the district moved north in Anne Arundel, it would actually pick up more Democrats, not fewer.
In other words, the map already contains every Republican‑leaning area that is geographically adjacent and logically connected. The only way to add more Republicans would be to create a cross‑Bay district that combines Southern Maryland with the lower Eastern Shore — which is exactly the kind of design people usually criticize as gerrymandering.
The political balance of the district isn’t the result of map manipulation. It’s the result of the underlying demographics:
- Black middle‑class suburbs in Prince George’s
- Rural Black and white communities in Southern Maryland
- Federal workers, commuters, and long‑established families
Those groups tend to vote the way they vote regardless of how the lines are drawn.
So while I respect your view, the evidence really does point in the opposite direction: MD‑05 is one of the most straightforward, logically constructed districts in Maryland, and its partisan makeup reflects the people who live there, not any kind of engineered map.
Barry- thank you so much for this extensive and detailed response, which is beyond refute. The lack of democracy in Maryland is manifested in closed primaries, the lack of run offs, the 1st-past-the-post system and of course election finance systems favoring incumbents. I happen to support an end to single member districts entirely and moving towards a proportional elections system as is common overseas. Indeed, one of the more famous was designed by Thomas Jefferson! The very nature of our primary system encourages a very low turnout. (My Rep. in the 3rd "won" with 15% of the vote......) Thus, your analysis of the 5th is spot on, more's the pity. Whites, independents, libertarians need not apply. As you can imagine, I thought the recent SCOTUS opin. in Calais was long overdue and a necessary corrective to abuses but, again, lets hope single member districts are replaced. Thank you once again for your reply and kudos on the excellence of your analysis.
Arthur — I appreciate the generous words.
Your point about proportional systems and the Jeffersonian model is well taken; those ideas deserve a far more serious hearing in Maryland than they usually get. The combination of closed primaries, single‑member districts, and first‑past‑the‑post rules produces exactly the low‑turnout, low‑choice outcomes you’re describing.
I’m especially interested in the Jefferson design you referenced — it’s remarkable how many of the structural solutions we need now were already sketched out two centuries ago. And proportional representation, in one form or another, would go a long way toward addressing the distortions we see in districts like the 5th.
Thanks again for the thoughtful engagement. It’s good to see these conversations moving toward substance.
Substance? Why our esteemed Governor is seemingly incapable of packaging his back story and military service in transparent, candid form....oops, I digress. You are very magnanimous and gracious. You must be a professor....given your obvious erudition. Thank you kindly for your interest in being open to sensible options. Namaste. Arthur
incisive analysis. i’ve known Wala since the days she worked for Tom Perez when he ran for Attorney General. No liberal wallflower himself, Tom lit a flame in Wala that burns far too hot for the 5th District. Maybe when Raskin retires, she might find herself over to the 8th district.
Wawa Wala needs less caffeine in her coffee and please hurry up with the chainsaw under her platform. Her TV ads are a channel turner