Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who represents a very blue congressional district in the Nashville area, on Tuesday announced that he will not seek re-election in the aftermath of the state Republicans’ redrawing of Tennessee’s congressional map.
Credit to Cooper for being forthright about his choice and his opinion of this gerrymander. His decision underscores the urgency of our task to hold onto the House and Senate in November.
Cooper’s announcement was issued less than 24 hours after Tennessee House GOP members approved a plan to split Davidson County into three congressional districts, further shrinking the foothold Democrats have in the red state. GOP lawmakers’ plan passed swiftly through the state Senate earlier this month.
Exactly as the GOP planned…sigh
And the corrupt Repubs have the audacity to deny that they are endeavoring to suppress voting??
I have seen this movie before, up close and personal. Independence, Missouri, the hometown of Harry Truman, had a Democratic state senator for generations. The Republicans got control of redistricting and carved the town up, creating three Republican districts in the process. Since then all the funding has gone to neighboring strongly Republican communities and Independence has fallen into disrepair.
Gerrymandering is evil.
As a former Nashville resident I find this gerrymander appalling and lay the blame squarely with Chief Justice John Roberts. The numbers are truly shocking. The city of Nashville has 692,000 people. The average House district contains 711,000 persons. Nashville is a perfect fit for the single district it has been for over two centuries.
End Game.
Did I mention…
Justice Elana Kagan began her dissent in Rucho vs Common Cause, which Republicans on the court used to unleash partisan gerrymandering on America with this:
"For the first time ever, this Court refuses to remedy a
constitutional violation because it thinks the task beyond
judicial capabilities.
And not just any constitutional violation. The partisan
gerrymanders in these cases deprived citizens of the most
fundamental of their constitutional rights: the rights to
participate equally in the political process, to join with
others to advance political beliefs, and to choose their
political representatives. In so doing, the partisan gerrymanders
here debased and dishonored our democracy, turning
upside-down the core American idea that all
governmental power derives from the people. These
gerrymanders enabled politicians to entrench themselves in
office as against voters’ preferences. They promoted
partisanship above respect for the popular will. They encouraged
a politics of polarization and dysfunction. If left unchecked,
gerrymanders like the ones here may irrepaably damage our system
of government.
"Justice Elena Kagan finished her dissenting opinion with:
: “Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this
was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil
our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system
is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and
fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent.”
If only Failed Joe Biden and the Do-Nothing Dems would pass some laws to protect voting. I’m so sick of this party. I’m going to withhold all donations and boycott the midterms to teach them a lesson.
ETA: with 20+ years of comments on TPM, I wouldn’t think this would be necessary but… /s
So you’re going to just give up? Christ on a crutch…
“It’s not conservative to split a county that’s been whole for 240 years,” Cooper said in a statement to the Tennessean earlier in January.
I have been a “conservative” all my life which is why in 1980 I left the Republican Party.
Cooper’s father (Prentice Cooper) was a governor of Tennessee, and his paternal grandfather was mayor of Shelbyfille and Speaker of the TN State House.
He is the dean of the Tennessee House delegation, and was a Rhodes Scholar.
He will be missed.
Hey at least Tennessee is reporting no more COVID infections or related deaths. God bless that wonderful state and may only the Dems there opt to vaccinate.
WGN tv news in Chicago just had a segment where Skeletor Scott was whining about “Biden” sending US Olympic athletes to China because (wait for it) the Chinese abuse human rights.
Oh, the irony burns…
Here we see the undoing of democracy in the United States. Not the whole thing but definitely one clear piece of it.
Between the Supreme Court, Republican Nazism, ignorant voters, Fox News and unlimited campaign spending, what hope is left, really?
If this were a chess game, I’m afraid freedom in America is at the “checkmate” stage. It’s already over.
Single district fit is actually the basis of gerrymandering. Split an urban enclave in two and you get two D or at least competitive districts.
Dems are getting what they deserve. Either fight the fascists like hell or go home and spend more time with family. We need warriors not wimps and until we get them we can get used to arguing amongst ourselves, forming circular firing squads, and losing. Losing elections, losing the news cycle, losing supreme court picks, losing to Mitch, losing to the propaganda, and finally losing power. Oh, but by all means keep trying to create comity and bipartisanship…fucking idiots.
The blame belongs to Manchin and Sinema; not the entire party. I suggest that this is exactly the response that the Republicans (and Putin) are hoping for rather than redoubling our efforts and donations.
Please see ETA.
Republicans are ‘aware’ this is happening and for some reason support the cheating and lying.