Part II:  How to Restore Majority Rule in New Mexico

In Part I the drift toward extremist tendencies in our political system were reviewed, emphasizing the importance of redistricting, which, as it has been pursued, has made it possible for minority views in each party to win in primary elections without penalties as districts are increasingly "safe" for members of one of the two parties.

Unlike most solutions, this one is quite simple, requiring only two steps:

Step One:  Place redistricting in the hands of a non-compromised blue ribbon, bipartisan commission.  This has been done in several states, including California.  Both political parties have shown themselves completely irresponsible in redistricting plans, so much so that virtually all redistricting plans have been contested and often resolved in court.  Ultimately, legislatures are constitutionally mandated to pass a redistricting plan, but this doesn't mean legislators must involve themselves in the details of redistricting.

Step Two:  Instruct the commission to maximize partisan competition in as many districts as possible.  The more nervous a legislator feels about losing to the other party next time around, the more likely the legislator will be striving for bipartisan solutions in legislation.  Bipartisan solutions, as Part I demonstrated, are moderate solutions, and moderate solutions is what most voters want.

These two steps will not solve all of the problems in our deeply flawed political system, but they will definitely create a strong incentive for individual legislators to seek common ground, which is in the middle of the political spectrum, not on the minority tail-ends.  These steps will also go a long way toward creating a more civil tone to political discourse in New Mexico.