Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, pictured talking to reporters during a recent visit to Schenectady, has said Democrats “play fair,” but it’s time to “counteract Republican actions.”

I would rather not be writing about redistricting and gerrymandering. Tooth decay, rodent migratory patterns and the Dallas Cowboys are among the many, many unpleasant subjects I’d rather tackle.

But here I am, feeling almost compelled to subject you, dear reader, to one more column about the evils of drawing congressional districts to benefit one political party over another. That’s because some of the Democratic dodos at the Capitol are again devising a scheme that would enshrine their power and weaken their Republican opponents.

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In fairness, none of this would be happening without a significant provocation. As recently detailed by the Times Union’s Dan Clark, a new proposal to reopen the process for redrawing district lines in New York is ostensibly a response to a plan in Texas to do the same. If a red state is going to cheat, then gosh darn it, we will, too!

“I think quite often in this country, we as Democrats play fair and Republicans use every tool that they can to an advantage,” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. “I........

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