One side can't lay down their weapons and assume the other will as well.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, I would run into hippy-dippy useful idiots, who would say stupid things like, "we should just destroy our nuclear weapons! Once Russia sees we are disarmed, they will have no need for their arsenal and follow suit!" It is a silly argument, as history has shown that such tactics never work - the strong will always take advantage of the weak.
Sadly, the Democratic Party seemed to be hell-bent on such a unilateral policy, thinking that, perhaps, if they lead by example, Republicans would follow suit, if nothing else, out of a sense of shame. Of course, we know now that Republicans are essentially shameless.
When one side disarms, the other merely takes over.
Our system of government is very old and very flawed. It was originally based on a system where only wealthy white men could vote (and women were virtual slaves and blacks actual). It passed on the obligation of actually running elections to the States. Parties quickly figured out that the real power was in the State House, where voting districts were determined, which in turn could alter the outcomes of local and national elections. Gerrymandering is not some new thing, but nearly as old as our republic, as the above cartoon illustrates.
In a system where less than half the population bothers to vote, and where the electoral college and gerrymandering skews results, it is possible for a minority party to achieve a majority and keep it, once in power, particularly if the opposition is somewhat lackluster.
Republicans have wasted no time in consolidating power - though the Statehouse and the Courthouse. They are pretty well entrenched and it may take years or even decades - if ever - before the balance of power changes. This is assuming Trump does not declare "martial law" and anoint himself King in his new East Wing Throne Room (and you thought it was a Ballroom!).
Hillary tried the "when they go low, we go high" strategy and it flopped. Democrats in California, egged on by GOP Billionaire donor Charlie Munger, passed a law taking redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and set up a bipartisan "Citizens Committee" to handle redistricting of that State. The net result was increased Republican presence in both the State Legislature as well as the House of Representatives. It was the fair thing to do, but politics is no place for fairness, it seems.
Republicans in Texas were so impressed by this that they passed a similar law in their home State. Just Kidding! Actually, what they did was gerrymander the crap out of Texas so that no Democrat will ever assume power there ever again. California unilaterally disarmed itself and Texas did not. The end result is a slim majority in the House for the GOP - only a handful of votes. They could not have achieved a majority otherwise.
Tuesday was the mid-Midterm election. I noted in my previous posting that the only item on our ballot was two seats on the Public Service Commission Board, which is in charge of setting utility rates. Turnout for such a snoozefest election was pretty high. Ordinarily, Democrats don't even bother to put up candidates for many of these minor seats. Well, two Democrats won, by pretty impressive margins, particularly for an alleged Red State. It was probably more of a referendum on the GOP and Trump than any concerns about utility rates. I suspect many voters didn't know (or care) what the PSC was, either.
Across the country, Democrats scored some pretty impressive wins - defeating Republicans in many conservative districts, and retaining seats despite well-funded opposition from Billionaire donors. Not bad for an off-year election.
Meanwhile, in California, Governor Gavin Newsom pushed for Proposition 50, which abolished the fair "Citizen's Committee" for redistricting and threw it back to the gerrymandering legislature. Screw being fair. Screw being "above the fray." This is politics and there is no runner-up or second place. It is winner-take-all and sadly, a race to the bottom. Hippy-dippy notions of unilateral disarmament are, once again, proven not only futile, but disastrous.
The net result of such gerrymandering could yield one or two additional seats in the House for the Democrats. Of course, not to be outdone, the GOP has been aggressively gerrymandering in other States, such as Texas, Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina. Republicans were playing tackle football, while the Democrats were playing touch football - with one hand tied behind their back.
Well, no more.
Of course, Republican operatives will call this "hypocrisy" while at the same time ignoring their own mal intent. That is the problem with trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. Democrats have to hound out people from the party for even the slightest allegations of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the other party gets away with electing frauds and rapists - and no one blinks an eye.
But hey, at least Republicans aren't hypocrites. They are pretty open about embracing their own malfeasance.