Republicans at both national and state levels have developed a habit of pushing for “solutions” to problems that hardly exist.

In some cases, the cures turn out to be worse than the supposed diseases — while just happening to help the GOP politically.

A classic example is the rash of voter ID laws that just “happened” to spring up simultaneously in dozens of states whose legislatures had gone Republican last fall. In this case, the problem allegedly crying out for solution was voter fraud.

Had there been some nationwide rash of people casting fraudulent ballots? Not at all. But the cure to this nonexistent disease also just happened to hit Democratic-leaning voters (students, the elderly, minorities) harder than GOP-leaners.

Needless Gerrymandering

Consider the redistricting proposals that are the subject of hearings across the state this week. Ostensibly, they are intended to correct the problem of too many grotesquely gerrymandered legislative districts across North Carolina. But in their early versions, at least, they make this problem worse — while just happening to help the Republicans at the polls.

This is far from the only time or place in which this time-honored practice is being pursued. It’s happening in other states. And the Democratic Party was guilty of the same kinds of manipulations in the past. But this time, ironically, the Republicans promised to do better than the other guys and to place principle ahead of partisanship.

Initially, GOP mapmakers said they were out to solve the problem of too many districts that meandered across town and county lines, breaking up natural constituencies. But according to Scott Mooneyham’s column on the next page, the proposed new House map splits up five more counties than the existing one, and the Senate map divides nine more counties than the current one.

‘Double-Bunking’ Incumbents

Clearly, the intent behind these maps is not to comply with the state constitution’s requirement to keep counties and precincts together wherever possible. In at least some cases, rather, the sought-after effect is to place two Democratic incumbents in the same district, effectively eliminating one of them by pitting them against each other.

In one example close to home, House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, a Democrat whose current district includes a sliver of Moore, would find himself in the same district with a fellow Democrat, Rep. Verla Insko of Orange County.

It is impossible, of course, to do so much map-juggling without causing collateral damage. Under the initial version of the Senate map, for example, our own state Sen. Harris Blake might fall victim to friendly fire by being shunted from Senate District 22 into District 29, where he would be “double-bunked” with fellow Republican Jerry Tillman of Randolph County.

Voters are supposed to choose representatives, but too often, as has been said, the present system lets representatives choose their voters. North Carolina needs to do what it keeps toying with: take redistricting out of the hands of politicians and turn it over to a nonpartisan (if there is any such thing) commission.

It looks like that could actually happen 10 years from now. Meanwhile, it’s the same old self-serving sham.