OMAHA WORLD HERALD EDITORIAL STAFF: Question: Republican lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature are all in lockstep support of the GOP-boosting redistricting map proposed last week for state legislative races, right? No, not at all. And that lack of unity explains much about Nebraska politics — and about a threat now hanging over the Legislature’s future.

The map may be called a “Republican” map, but it actually is skewed in major ways toward helping a certain kind of Republican: hard-shell conservatives expected to line up in support of Gov. Pete Ricketts’ approach to politics.

Nebraskans may be surprised to learn that the map would redraw districts to undercut the reelection chances of two independent-minded Republicans (Sens. Myron Dorn and Tom Brandt) who dared support overriding a gubernatorial veto. And it would eliminate outright the current District 24, west of Lincoln, whose voters for 15 years have sent independent-thinking Republicans to the Legislature (current Sen. Mark Kolterman and former Speaker Greg Adams). In addition to targeting swing-vote Republicans, the map hobbles the reelection opportunities for several Democratic incumbents in western and north-central Douglas County. The current map for the Legislature, adopted in 2011, splits seven counties. The new “Republican” map more than doubles that number — it splits 16.

Self-serving maneuvering by both parties is par for the course during Nebraska redistricting, but in the end, the Legislature must negotiate a state legislative map through responsible compromise. Nebraska, now and always, needs a Legislature whose ideological makeup generally mirrors that of the state. Such a body would contain a large contingent of staunch conservatives, but also a significant number of moderates and liberals.

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