I remember having a conversation about some intellectually limited legislators with a friend a few years ago; she said (somewhat bitterly) “the problem with the legislature is that it’s representative.” Her point was that we elect people who represent all of us–informed and not-so-informed, bright and not-so-bright.
If things were bad when legislative bodies were representative, they’re appalling when only some of us are being represented.
The NYT doesn’t care about gerrymandering or the quality of elected officials. It only cares about bashing Republicans. Both parties deserve bashing as both are utterly incompetent and corrupt.
It hasn’t been that long since a Democrat stated that Guam would tip over.
The problem is not the legislator but the “party” to which he/she belongs. Unless the legislator toes the party line, they wil be shunned by the caucus and become outcasts. No matter how good their intentions or how intelligent they are they will loose the next election because they will have no party support and, more likely, opposition in the primary.