Wrestlin' in Wisconsin

I'm not totally wrong. Here's the first paragraph of a Wiki article on the subject.

By siding with public employees in the state and local budget disputes, the national Democratic Party is playing with dynamite. Voters are sometimes willing to accept new taxes to purchase shared public benefits such as roads or schools. But even in liberal California cities, voters are reluctant to raise tax revenues to transfer directly to the retirement benefits of a middle-class interest group. So public-sector unions seek to channel resources away from education, parks and libraries into pensions — making public unions a major obstacle to the adequate provision of public services. This is a losing political proposition in Wisconsin, California or just about anywhere else in the country.

That's interesting. I wasn't aware of the timing, but it does explain an observable lacf of discussion on the subject.

Gerrymandering is the normal behavior of majority incumbents of both parties, more or less equally. The Democrats in California had perfected the process until the citizens in referenda over the last three years took the power away fron the Legilature.

I don't doubt what you wrote about the GOP in California. The self-serving maneuvering and complaining is about the same in both parties. I'm aware of some of the Texas Shenanigans. However, I suspect they're not alone. I've had occasion to look at congressional district maps of Michigan, Colorado, Georgia and Pennsylvania. There are some very strange and convoluted shapes there too.

The senatorial victory in Wisconsin may have no specific impact on votes, but it does indicate pretty reliably a level of support that may be manifest in the coming election - it's an indicator at least as good (probably better) than the polls you are so fond of.

Voting districts are based on population.

There hasn't been a lot of discussion of the Senate seat won, as the term is over for the year and there won't be any votes before the next election in November; at which time the Senate is likely to switch back the other way, thanks to some very aggressive gerrymandering on the part of the state GOP.