Such practices only make sense to politicians safeguarding a seat.
I was reluctant to support redistricting. I kept wondering what was to be gained. But after reviewing the gerrymandered districts of CA it became plain to me that those responsible had already violated my trust.
There's nothing wrong with making a politician work for the vote.
Yes... and to my way of thinking, if we can't go out and win open seats with good candidates, we'll lose control of Congress sooner or later. And even Horowitz admits California is if anything, getting even more Blue with the passage of time. We can either continue taking the scraps off the Democrats' table or we can fight for a Republican majority. The easier path of keeping the status quo may make sense in the short term but in the long term its a prescription for political suicide. We've got to expand the GOP not just keep what we have now.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)