One bit of Reform Democrats should push - but won't

Because it is more democratic and that's with a small "D".

This story in Yahoo sums up the difficulty:

Democrats remain energized about November, when every House seat is up for election, and they seek to wipe out a 15-seat Republican margin of control and then some. Only about 35 of the 435 races are competitive, so there's little room for error. Privately, some GOP political handicappers, in a race-by-race assessment, predict that the Democrats will pull it off, as the national mood toward President Bush and the Republican-ruled Congress sours further.

The two latest generic congressional polls - testing which party voters want in charge - favor the Democrats by large margins: 10 points in one, 16 in the other.

For once I come here to praise Iowa instead of make fun of my home state (It's not so bad really, while it's Minnesota's Mexico, it is still Missouri's Canada).

The curse of the gerrymander has afflicted Congress for centuries, but in the last two decades, under both Democrats and then Republicans it has become a "scientific demographic" nightmare, especially now that the court's are all but abandoning their oversight. Election turnover like 1994 used to happen fairly regularly in American politics, now it is more difficult forever because incumbants have safe seats built around them. No the redistricting of the last decade has made expressions of public discontent harder than ever.

Perhaps the system was implemented here because Iowa is both culturally rather homogenous and not so urban it could do this with relatively little difficulty but it's system of districting is a model to be followed.

Here a non-partisan commission sets our districts which are approved by the State legislature. Having no large ethnic population other than "germanic" there are no bizarre-ass serpentine districts.

Such districts have certainly led to more minority representation in Congress, but to what end. It has also created a Congress that makes it that much harder for the actual mood of the nation to be transferred into Congress...and it has made those minority Congresspersons part of a minority party with no real power whatsoever.
I think its good for the country for a party to regularly be afraid of losing 30 to 60 seats every election. It makes them a hell of a lot more responsive to their constituents.

But such a plan would be good for progressive policies and bad for incumbents.
And I say this despite the fact that the system here has led to the election of the gigantic rube asshole Steve King from the northwest part of the State.

Nevertheless, no Democratic office holder will accept it.