That would be the remake of “The Fly.”
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That is an ironclad rule proven true practically every time any R opens his pie hole.
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I don’t see how a citizen-led group won’t get subjected to partisanship just like any other group. The consequences are too important. I suppose the only answer is going to be a computer algorithm that uses only some agreed upon criteria, but who will set that criteria and ensure that it has been implemented will be the problem then. Republicans will never agree to anything that is remotely fair because that inherently puts them at a disadvantage.
Looks like another bunch of “very fine people.”
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Now, that’s my kind of “independent, citizen led commission.”
Get out the pitch forks and torches, grab the Republicans, tar-and-feather 'em, then send 'em to Bernie’s Maoist-style Re-education Camp, where AOC, Omar and Tlaib are the cruelest of the prison guards. This is what they fear, at least — except that they secretly want AOC to be their prison guard.
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Sadly…you are wrong. Both sides do it and Maryland is a clear case of the Dems doing it. In NJ they were about to do it and the voters scared them off.
BOTH sides do it. Here in PA, the GOP has been the culprit for years, but while we fight mightily for an independent commission to handle redistricting, there are not a few Dems in the legislature who are telling us to shut up and go away because they think they might win control of the Legislature next time around and then THEY can draw their own monstrosities.
We face an extra heavy burden here because PA has no ballot/petition initiative to get the independent commission idea on a referendum ballot. We have to amend our state constitution to do that and here are the beautiful hurdles we have to overcome:
1- We have to pass the same bill (absolutely no changes in language) in two successive two-year sessions of the Legislature.
2- We then have to get it approved by a statewide referendum (that should not be a problem because two-thirds of state voters want an independent commission.)
3- Delay is the weapon of choice for controlling Republicans right now. If we can’t get a bill passed this session and very early in the next session, it will be another DECADE before we can create a commission to handle 2030 redistricting. Last session we had 110 co sponsors for the House proposal first passage attempt (That’s over half the House body.) The GOP leaders repeatedly sent bills to committees controlled by their allies…and the chairs then gutted language, delayed, held no hearings and never sent anything to the floor. And House Rules enable leaders to control the legislative calendar and agenda with ruthless efficiency.
And all of this despite a statewide volunteer campaign that to date has generated 50,000+ signatures calling for change, resolutions from over 270 towns and municipalities statewide, strong support in the polls, over 200 editorials and op eds and hundreds of letters to the editor supporting change, thousands of calls, letters, faxes, emails and personal visits with legislators, and victories by voters in other state in their drive for similar reforms.
Many think PA solved its redistricting problem when the state Supreme Court ruled our CONGRESSIONAL district maps were unconstitutional. The court offered the Legislative leaders a chance to try and draw new ones, but those were as bad as the old ones and the Court had to step in with its own (which it drew in just days.l) It survived legal challenges and in the 2018 mid terms the make up of our 18 member Congressional delegation went from 13-5 to 9-9 (And Dems statewide actually got about 54% of the vote.) All that did though, was create a fairer set of maps between now and 2020. But after the census, if the old system stays in place, you can be guaranteed the gerrymandering problems we face will remain in place.
The Supreme Court’s blithe arguments by conservatives that reform movements like ours obviate the need for any court intervention belies the realities of what we have to face.
Even in states with petition/initiatives like MO and MI which recently passed reform bills by large margins, the legislatures in those states immediately went to work to try and undermine the results and restore their controls.
The GOP right now knows more and more that independent redistricting commissions are a dagger to the heart of their ability to control legislatures, control Congress, ram through unpopular legislation, deny the rights of opposition voting groups, and maintain power and access to the riches that gives them. They are truly an organized crime organization right now and any notion that they are going to be willing to think about fairness, democracy, equal access or basic decency is laughable.
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“Houston, the Grifter has landed.”
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If repugnicans can’t cheat they will rarely win.
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Thank you.
I guess AZ is having a bit a of a giggle too.
The Independent Redistricting Commission’s mission is to redraw Arizona’s congressional and legislative districts to reflect the results of the most recent census. The concept of one-person, one-vote dictates that districts should be roughly equal in population. Other factors to be considered are the federal Voting Rights Act, district shape, geographical features, respect for communities of interest and potential competitiveness. The state Constitution requires the commissioners – two Republicans, two Democrats and an independent chairwoman – to start from scratch rather than redraw existing districts.
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[quote=“irasdad, post:17, topic:87323, full:true”]
Hey, look – here’s an “independent, citizen led commission” now…
[/quote]
You know we really should have some sort non carbon producing lighting at these things. Saving the fire for serious business of…do they make solar torches?
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I wonder what he’s getting paid, and how much time he devotes to this?
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Since Gingrich the GOP has been laughing in the face of democracy by trying to wreck it.
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I just got an email from the Lone Star Project and Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton were forced to admit that their purge of 98,000 voters from the Texas roles was fatally flawed and they are not going to be able to do it. They lost.
Woo Hoo!
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Dear TPM,
Anyone who uses “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” should be called a “RepubliTurd”. That is fair and balanced. Also very legal and very cool.
Thank you.
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How desperate would you have to be to hire Scott Walker?
It makes me a little less worried about this particular group, since letting Walker handle your finances is like letting a 3-card monte dealer handle your finances, except 3-card monte dealers usually aren’t this stupid.
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Freud would have a field day with all their defense mechanisms.
It may not be an act of desperation. Now that he isn’t employed as the Koch Brothers’ Governor of Wisconsin, they needed to offer him another place of gainless employment. The (KB)NRRT just happened to have an opening.
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“The National Republican Redistricting Trust (NRRT) has been fairly shy about publicly airing its views since it was founded in 2017…” (FIFY…no charge)
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