Big Government Fuels Gerrymandering

As Washington’s role grows—spending more, carrying record peacetime debt, and facing imminent entitlement and immigration decisions—the cost of losing federal power rises. Parties then rationally invest in mid‑cycle, hard‑edge gerrymanders to secure or block House control, even at the risk of creating more swingy seats. Gerrymandering wars are thus a byproduct of federal centralization, not just partisan bad faith. — This reframes redistricting fights as structural responses to federal scope, implying that dialing down national stakes could reduce map‑making arms races.