It’s poorly worded but I believe the OP was using an example where both the right and the left abuse a system for control and not necessarily the greater good. While it’s true that both the left and the right both abuse gerrymandering, I don’t believe that the latter part of the assertion that they do so purely in the pursuit of power/control is accurate or a fair representation of everyone’s motives. There are people involved in politics that truly believe in what their party stands and moreover, that the opposing party will induce some sort of harm (regardless if they’re well intentioned or not) if their policies are implemented. There is no law against Gerrymandering and this objectionable tactic will invariably be used by the opposing party. By not Gerrymandering, you are giving the opposing party a distinct advantage and the opportunity to enact policies that you are fighting against. The cynic would say that everyone involved cares only about power and while that is almost certainly true for certain individuals, it’s not true for many. It concerns me how some bad apples, opportunists, and some folks with an agenda in politics, the media, etc. have turned so many into cynics. There are many good people in politics and the media — people who care deeply about their work and their impact on society. We should find ways to discuss specifics and not in generalities.
It will never cease to amuse me that "bad apples" is thrown around like that, downplaying the problem. And then people nod and are like, "yeah, that vaguely reminds me of a folksy saying, it must be credible."
The saying is "one bad apple spoils the barrel", and is stressing how much of a problem it is for there to be individual deviance, and how we must be super vigilant for it and throw it the heck out. If we're to believe that, and we're to believe there have been "a few bad apples" for some time, we should expect that the whole barrel is spoiled and would be quite right to be cynics.
I don't necessarily agree, and I certainly don't think that folk wisdom is the best way of making decisions... but it's probably better than the uncritical opposite!
What about gerrymandering?