Dems consider pulling a "Delay" (Redistricting)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.dailykos.com/

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has spoken with several Democratic governors in recent weeks about the possibility of revisiting their states' Congressional lines in response to the ongoing Republican-led redistricting in Georgia, according to informed party sources.

Faced with the prospect of Republicans redrawing Congressional lines in a third state since the initial 2001 round of redistricting ended, a faction of national Democrats is urging an aggressive strategy aimed at striking back at Republican House Members in states like New Mexico and Illinois.

"We have to stop playing defense and go on the offensive," said Howard Wolfson, who served as executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2002 cycle and is now a consultant with the Glover Park Group.

"The only way to stop them from doing this is to make them pay a price for it somewhere else," said a longtime House strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Don't even think Dems - DO IT!

[asthmaticeog]

1. About. Damn. Time. n/t

[Maine-ah]

2. a'ya. ditto that.

[meow2u3]

3. Turnabout's fair play

If Delay wants to gerrymander in the middle of the decade, two can play that game.

STP to DeLay: If you can't take it, don't dish it out! :nopity:

[Gothmog]

4. Go for it

Give the GOP a taste of its own medicine.

[fat free goodness]

5. Turnabout may NOT be fair play...

Two wrongs do not make a right. It’s not right for the party in power in a state to gerrymander or otherwise distort districts in order to give themselves an artificial advantage. The best ways to fight this (in no particular order) are to
(a) Challenge the legality. (It’s already illegal.)
(b) LOUDLY point out that this is cheating. Voters generally favor fair play. (If most voters favor the cheaters, you are doomed anyhow.)
(c) Work for laws that make it more difficult to redraw boundaries for political gain.

While doing unto others as the scalawags do unto you is satisfying and works in the short run, pretty soon the voters are saying “You know what? I don’t care who wins. They are both crooked, and will do whatever it takes to keep themselves in power.”
Taking the high road is the best way, in the long run.
Plus, it has the added advantage of being the right thing to do.

[rock]

6. Voters generally favor fair play.

True of Democrats, false of Republicans.
Welcome.

[Bridget Burke]

18. Yes! That's why we kicked the Republicans out of Texas.

Oh, wait--we didn't....

[CatholicEdHead]

7. Right on, do not go down to their level

the real thing should be pushing for rule changes for redistricting using Iowa's model.

http://www.legis.state.ia.us/GA/78GA/Interim/2000/comminfo/redis/mn010116.htm

"For legislative redistricting, Iowa law requires that as many counties, townships, and cities as possible be kept whole within a single district. During the 2001 redistricting, it is anticipated that five congressional districts will be drawn first, and then 10 new Senate districts and 20 new House districts will be drawn within each of the five new congressional districts although the legislation does not mandate that the congressional district lines be followed. New Senate districts are numbered so that as many Senators as possible, who were elected in the 2000 general election, will remain in an even-numbered district."

[ClarkUSA]

11. We have to do what's effective...rule changes take too much time

which we don't have the luxury of taking.

I say it's time to take the offensive.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Is so if the GOP goes to court to stop it and gets a ruling that stops

them too...

:dem:

[ClarkUSA]

10. What's right is beating back the GOP...

this moralizing gets us nothing but a permanent minority for the next generation.

Politics is played this way.

It is not for the timid or the weak.

[fat free goodness]

17. Weak?!?

Doing what’s right, even when the other guy doesn’t, is not “weak”.

If a party is willing to do “whatever it takes” to get in power then I do not want them in power. I want to vote for a party that want to do what’s right, in the small things and the large.

[snippy]

25. Your way will result in permanent republican majorities in Congress.

Permanent republican majorities in Congress will result in more of this.

BUSH DISARMED THIS IRAQI

Politics has consequences. Noble votes in a losing cause have consequences. Neither this country nor the world desrve the consequences which will result from permanent republican rule.

[quaoar]

9. YES!!!!!

About fucking time.

We need to do this in New York and California as well.

[ClarkUSA]

13. We need to do this in every very blue state and make the GOP choke

on the flattery that is imitation.

[DaveinMD]

20. the NY State Senate is Republican

and has been drawn as such for a long time.

[quaoar]

23. Oh well

And the Alabama Legislature is Democratic. Who would have guessed?

[BlueManDude]

12. Do they have the balls to do it?

And stay tough through all the flack they'll get? I hate to be a pessimist but I doubt it.

[ClarkUSA]

14. I'm just glad they have the balls to even talk about it...

considering people like me have been saying it for years. Let's support them instead of naysaying them. If they had more grassroots cheering them on and affirming them, they'd feel much more confident.

Be aware there are many GOP fakers calling and hating on this idea, so we have to drown them out. Reid seems like a tough guy. These Dems have nothing to lose at this point.

[John_H]

15. A classic dem press release that explains why dems lose

"We're really, REALLY thinking about this." Jesus christ. This should already be done.

[sendero]

16. How could anyone be against this?

It's a total no-brainer.

[German-Lefty]

19. Name the Bill after Delay!

We could do it in some of the very populous blue states. I wonder how many seats we could steal back this way. The problem is that the people we kick out aren't DeLay Republican Party Hacks, they'll be moderates electable in the blue states. Of coarse throwing them out of office might teach them a lesson in going along with the evil ones.

All this phony jury mandering, redisticting crap is undemocratic. It keeps people from forming a relationship with thier congressmen. People just then vote down party lines.

On the other hand it would be funny to see the hypocracy of Republicans complaining about redistricting. I think if we do it we should name the bill after the Tom Delay!

New Mexico Tom Delay Redisticting Plan

[ClassWarrior]

21. Attaboy, Howard!!

Fight, fight, fight!!!

NGU.

[BlueInRed]

22. kick

:kick:

[WI_DEM]

24. We should have done this in California when we had a dem gov.

[bunkerbuster1]

26. Don't talk. Do.

Until our country gets wise and amends the Constitution to ensure fair, neutral districting, we have to do whatever it takes to gain an edge.

Get down, get dirty, and win. Stop bringing butter knives to gunfights.