So NOW the MMAC's prez doesn't like Wisconsin's maps? Just spare me.

After the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided last week that Governor Evers' redistricting maps gave the “least changes” to Wisconsin districts, the President of the Milwaukee area’s “voice for business” wasn’t keen on the outcome.

Both parties draw political maps, but in Gov. Evers “peoples” map the 8th State Sen. district turns into an ameba, putting two Senators in the same seat-meaning one is out-seat is not up this year. One Senator’s home is now “just a bit outside” hold..it’s two Republicans pic.twitter.com/n69xNCCVaj

— TimSheehy_MMAC (@TimSheehy_MMAC) March 7, 2022

Somehow, I don’t recall Tim Sheehy and his fellow Milwuakee "business lobbyists" complaining when the Republicans gerrymandered the state in 2011 to give big swaths of Milwaukee County to Republican legislators that try to handcuff Milwaukee and wreck public education through vouchers.

Before 2011

2011-present

That’s because the MMAC is little more than a Republican front group made up of mediocre businessMEN that are more interested in government giveaways than they are in improving the economy and competitiveness of the state’s largest metro area.

Now that suburbs like Whitefish Bay, Glendale and Wauwatosa have become bright blue in the Trump era, those gerrymanders have backfired, and Timmy is having a sad because his buddy Koo-Koo Kooyenga is going to lose his seat.

But hey, I’ll meet Tim Sheehy halfway – I don’t think the Evers map that the Supreme Court of Wisconsin backed is that great either, and has its own manipulations. Having 7 districts with voters that are between 50% and 52% Black is quite contrived, was openly criticized by Dem Sen. Lena Taylor on the State Senate floor (not that her argument was 100% altruistic), and leads to some of the goofiness of the shape of the districts.

Timmy and the rest of the oligarchs can have my “least changes” map if they and the Wisconsin GOP are so concerned with diluting Black voters in Milwaukee (that’s what worries you right?). .

Lot cleaner, right? Although Koo-Koo Kooyenga would still be fortunate to win if he runs, as the 5th Senate district in that map only favors GOPs by 2 points in all statewide races from 2016-2020, and Joe Biden won it by 8.5% in November 2020.

Now, my maps wouldn’t hurt the WisGOP Legislature that the MMAC counts on as much as Evers’ maps would. But the WisGOPs would still likely have a smaller majority in 2023, as their projected advantage (per the Dave’s Redistricting app) shrinks from the GOP's current gerrymandered advantage.

Wis Legislature districts favored under various maps
Current 2010s maps
Assembly 62-37 GOP
Senate 22-11 GOP

My 2020s maps
Assembly 60-39 GOP
Senate 22-11 GOP (although my tipping point is closer than 2010s maps)

Evers’ 2020s maps
Assembly 55-44 GOP
Senate 20-13 GOP

Most normal humans would be happy to have a 5% advantage in a baseline scenario, but WisGOPs and their puppetmasters at MMAC/WMC still want it all, and don’t want to risk any chance of actually having to work and EARN their “success.”

By the way, let’s not forget that a big reason why these “least changes” maps still had notable changes in the Milwaukee area is because the City and the metro area saw their populations and job growth stagnate in the 2010s. That’s in a decade where Sheehy’s MMAC got everything they wanted, including having their Legislative friends prevent Milwaukee from mandating paid sick leave, and suppress wages through right-to-work laws and Act 10.

After that underperformance of the last decade, maybe Tim Sheehy and the rest of these “leaders” should step back and have folks with a 21st Century playbook try a different strategy to encourage talent and businesses to locate to the largest economic engine in the state. It works for us in Madison. Just saying.