Dems don’t need extreme gerrymandering to be winners, in fact we control the House with the extreme gerrymandering against us.
So we fight for fair redistricting because that would be enough increase our numbers in the house something closer to fair. Repubs need gerrymandering yo get to a majority.
Republicans are already advantaged by the cap on the House at 435 members. So for every small population Republican state with only one Rep, takes away from the representation over larger states. This goes against the intent of the framers of the constitution where the house reflects population and Senate is despite population.
Last week, the former Wisconsin governor officially became the fundraising chairman for one of the main GOP groups focused on drawing maps for Congress and state legislatures.
That’s perfect
No. 1 Cheater , con artist and liar leading the party that can’t win without cheating.
Welcome to 2019
As if
Democrats got millions more votes – so how did Republicans win the Senate?
“The reason the Democrats continue to lose is they run bad candidates with bad ideas,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the system. They have a hard time stomaching that their candidates and ideas are out of sync with mainstream America.”
Bad ideas such as Obamacare, clean water and air, concern about climate change.
Bad candidates are anyone who doesn’t look and worship like me.
The NRRT declined comment out of concern that they would not be “treated fairly.”
I do wonder what the word “fair” means to Republicans.
Instead of gerrymandering (and voter suppression), why don’t they just actually try to get the most votes? To get more people to want to vote for them, to want to vote for their ideas and policies?
Nah! Gerrymandering and voter suppression is easier…
Because the Senate is 2 members per state.
This has nothing to do with Gerrymandering.
When dems get more votes in the House races and Republicans retain control, that’s gerrymandering.
“The reason the Democrats continue to lose is they run bad candidates with bad ideas,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the system…"
Except…
In 2018, Democrats won about 199,000 more votes for the state assembly. Republicans retained a 63-33 advantage in seats.
Oopsies!
I’m sure the good Mr. James was just… momentarily forgetful of that teensy little factlet when he made his statement. It couldn’t possibly have been made in absolute bad faith, and the good Mr. James couldn’t possibly be a lying bastard.
The figures in Walker’s own state in which a strong majority of Democratic voters still resulted in a lopsided Republican local government belies the idea that Dems are running bad candidates, much less the idea that the Dems are seeking an unprecedented power grab. What the fight illuminates that Republicans can’t win without a thumb on the scales and they’ll have no hesitation in claiming the thumb was never there. That’s true for the last Presidential election and it’s been true in statehouse elections for some time. Gerrymandering used to be pretty outrageous, but I think the Republican in 2010 and thereafter took the cake.
On the other hand, if the Dems can’t make the case that people are being cheated out of their votes, and devalued and deceived by the way it’s been done so that impartial commissions make the fairest sense, then they are pretty well doomed. This won’t take sanctimonious and carefully positioned pronouncements. It needs hard scrabble in-your-face push back to make people understand what is fair to them and that they’ve been robbed of what should be theirs. It won’t be easy. And it doesn’t have to be GOP duplicitous and nasty - just hard facts with few qualifiers. Don’t screw this up. Please!
From the horse’s ass mouth:
In REDMAP target states, the Party that controls the state legislative majorities controls the pen to draw fair and constitutional [*cough*] lines for state legislature and Congress. After 2010, state legislatures had the responsibility to draw 361 congressional districts or 83% of the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans drew 193 districts while the Democrats drew 44. 103 districts were drawn in states with split control, while 88 were commission based and 7 were at large.
If anyone can track down the RSLC’s phone number, I’ll buy you a beer.
Edit: Ah, found it! 202.448.5160 – just in case anyone feels like ringing them up.
Fighting gerrymandering is extraordinarily important, but probably not as important as Democrats not actually competing in suburban and rural districts. Remember gerrymandering only works when Republicans are allowed to super concentrate Democrats in a few segregated districts. It doesn’t work when the Democratic message isn’t simply aimed at the people Republicans have segregated in Democratic districts. In short, to truly break gerrymandering Democrats need a broad message that appeals to all people regardless of ethnic, wealth or age demographic.
“Democrats, led by Barack Obama and Eric Holder, will stop at nothing” in this quest, the NRRT’s website declares.
Indeed, the spirit of a fair and equitable democracy is everything.
With Walker involved you know its going to be bad.
The Republican State Leadership Committee’s James argued that commissions are “a charade dressed up in good governance that is completely stacked with their people, their Democrats.”
California Redistricting Commission, current composition:
- 5 D
- 5 R
- 4 Ind (1 No Party Preference, 3 Decline to State)
completely stacked with their people, their Democrats.
Naughty naughty, David! Didn’t Mommy teach you not to lie like that? I always thought that was part of a good Christian upbringing such as I’m sure you had.
I am SO fucking tired of the GOP assault on our republic!
I say drive them ALL Into the sea, then salt the earth of their land so they can’t return to fuck us all over some more
I’m fuckin DONE with these fuckwads!
Read this:
.
“Fair” to Republicans is anything that stacks the deck and rigs elections in their favor.
And this is why The Economist has downgraded the US to a “Flawed Democracy”
"The NRRT declined comment out of concern that they would not be “treated fairly.”
What more needs to be said?
That is the GOP’ s position that it is a political process. If you want a fairer map, vote for the other party.
This appears to be the position of the Supreme court also in their obvious attempt to pass the Buck.
Need to watch the state of UT. Voters passed an anti-gerrymandering bill last fall and the state legislature has not yet weighed in. (They have already messed with medical marijuana and medicare).
Why would they do this? San Juan County was un-gerrymandered by court order prior to last election and now has 2 Navajo county commissioners.
Shenanigans abound.