How “Ratf*ked” Reframes Our Understanding of American Democracy’s Collapse

How little red lines eliminated choice in America.

Before the Constitution was signed, democracy in America was always a bit of a gamble. And like most gambling games of chance, it could be rigged.

In 2010, while most of us were watching national headlines, a small group of political operatives redrew the future—not metaphorically, literally. They redrew the lines of power, district by district, and locked in control for a decade.
David Daley’s Ratf**ked isn’t really about gerrymandering. I mean, we’re going to talk a lot about the idea, where it comes from, how it works, and more. But this isn’t about drawing lines. It’s really about distributing power away from the voter and towards the government.

It’s about how democracies are slowly, legally, and invisibly stolen—not with violence, but with software, strategy, and a total understanding of how little most people pay attention to state politics.

This is the first installment in a three-part series on the book, the project it chronicles, and the world we now live in—engineered, rigged, and post-democratic in all but name.

Let’s dive in.