Michigan’s ‘Independent’ Redistricting Commission Not So Independent

I have been saying for years that in today’s political environment no one can truly be independent.  Today’s two main political parties are so diametrically opposed when it comes to just about every issue. I ask myself how someone could vote for one person in one Party then vote for someone else in the other Party.

I believe people identify as “Independent” because they do not like to say they are affiliated with either Party. Perhaps they believe they are voting for the person and not the Party.  The Party leaders have so much control via money, committee seats and support that the Parties are truly ruled by their leaders.

• One Party is for secure borders the other is not.
• One Party backs the police the other does not.
• One Party wants to fund the police the other does not.
• One Party is against all rioting and looting the other is only against rioting and looting of the other Party's supporters.
• One is for controls to ensure a fair and secure election the other is not.
• One is for less government control in our lives the other is for big government with a lot of control in our lives.
• One is for fewer government regulations where they are not needed the other is for government regulations in every part of our lives.
• One is not for tyrannical control the other is for tyrannical control if they are the ones in control.
• One is for the belief that people should work to be able to support themselves and their families the other is for people should work if they feel like it.
• One is for the belief that people should pay their rent the other is against people paying their rent.

Do I need to go on?

Back in 2018, the residents of Michigan voted to create a constitutional amendment that gave the power of creating new voting districts in Michigan to a group of 13 randomly selected Michigan voters. Those 13 Michigan residents were supposed to be made up of four Democrats, four Republicans, and five “Independents”.

The Washington Free Beacon is informing us that one of those “Independents” is actually a huge supporter of self-described socialist Senator Bernie Sanders.

He is a 29-year-old medical student Anthony Eid who stated that he does not "affiliate with either the Republican or Democratic Party."  It appears Mr. Eid was not completely telling the people of Michigan the truth.  The Washington Free Beacon researched into his social media presence and found that he has been a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party's liberal wing.

One of those members is Democrat/Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. You may say he is not a Democrat he is a Socialist.  You could say that but he did run for President of the United States as a Democrat and in my books that makes him a Democrat.

In his application, he stated that he supports "There are candidates in each party that I support for different reasons".  Ok, but he has never publicly backed a Republican candidate for office. On July 26, 2016 he tweeted that he was "proud to live in a state that voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary".

If you need more proof that he is certainly not an “Independent” the Washington Free Beacon writes:

Months later, the "independent" endorsed then-Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison (D.)—who Sanders also backed—for Democratic National Committee chair. Eid went on to repeatedly promote Sanders-supported candidates, including Abdul El-Sayed, who ran to the left of Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer in a failed 2018 primary campaign.

Here is a really big surprise to me.  When the Washington Free Beacon contacted the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission for comment their spokesman Edward Woods III gave them an astonishing comment when he said:

The Constitution only requires the applicant to identify their affiliation…In Michigan, it is either the Democrats, Republicans, or neither the Democrats nor Republicans. The Commission does not vet or choose candidates.

No one ever vetted the commissioners' stated political affiliations.  I could understand not vetting someone claiming to be a Democrat or Republican but to not vet someone claiming to be “Independent” is a dereliction of duty.

Now we have no idea if this Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is truly “Independent” or not.  Right now it appears that it is not.  The numbers are now Five Democrats, four Republicans, and four “Independents”.

Are there any other secrets the other four “Independents” are not telling us?

Have you now lost faith in this “Independent” Commission to fairly redraw the state and congressional districts in Michigan?