Republicans will have the power to gerrymander districts to keep the House for a decade

[BlueCaliDem]

Mother Jones:

Fri Nov. 5, 2010 3:14 AM PDT

Not a fan of your new GOP-dominated House of Representatives? You'd better get used to it. After winning almost unprecedented power over the congressional redistricting process, Republicans are poised to lock in their gains for a decade or more. And there's very little the Democrats can do to stop them. This year, the Dems could draw less than half the districts the GOP does.

The Republican wave couldn't have come at a worse time for Dems. America's once-a-decade census has wrapped up, and many states are due to change the boundaries of their congressional districts. Population-based adjustments mean that slower-growing states (like Ohio) will lose seats, while faster-growing states (like Florida) will gain them.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/republican-decade-congressional-redistricting

This is frightening folks! Rove is still fighting to ensure a permanent Republican't/Corporate control of our House, and the dumb American electorate just handed him the keys.

[still_one]

1. you are right, and it was due to the DUMB American electorate. Sometimes people will have to learn

the consequences the hard way

[OHdem10]

2. Have not seen many Democrats educating them.

[BlueCaliDem]

6. Not only that, but the Democrats didn't redistrict when they had a chance

according to the article.

Why didn't they? That's the question.

[struggle4progress]

12. Huh? It's customary to redistrict after every census

[BlueCaliDem]

14. You're right. I misread this part:

There is one last hope for the Democrats, however: pulling a Tom DeLay. In 2003, angered by what he saw as an unfair Dem gerrymander of Texas, the former Republican House majority leader launched an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort and forced at least four Texas Dems out of their seats in the next election. Over the course of the past decade, the Democrats had the opportunity to do something similar in Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Wisconsin. They never did, and those chances are gone. "Unfortunately," says Bonier, "no one has a time machine to go back and do that." But he says future mid-decade redistricting is something Dems could "consider."

But given how meek the Democrats have been since 1994, can we realistically hope they'd pull a Tom Delay? I don't see it, but then again, if they see that they are being redistricted out of power for a decade, they just might grow a couple.

[dkf]

3. That is why it was important for Democrats to get it right NOW.

Obviously Obama wasn't designing a permanent Democratic majority but decided to do whatever he could legislatively now damn the torpedoes.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I have this feeling that the repukes had this in mind from the beginning....like when

they nominated McCain and Palin to lose to Obama...knowing that the crap left over from pres shit-for-brains would sink ANYONE elected in 2008. They then would win the midterm elections and be set to create a repuke dynasty by winning the House and redistrict to their heart's content...thereby ensuring a repuke House majority for a loooooooooooooong time.

For the blueprint,check out Tom DeLay's redistricting in Texas. That was probably thier test case.

They are so far out in front of the Dem strategists that it is pathetic.

[BlueCaliDem]

16. What I don't understand is why did the Dems allow this to happen?

They knew this was coming. Delay gave them a taste in Texas, yet none of the Dems seemed to put two and two together??

Somehow, this is difficult for me to believe. They must've known. The question then is, why didn't they stand stronger and show the uninformed American sheeple what's in store for them if they continued to give power back to Repukes. Sometimes I wonder if we're not being treated to a Congressional Kabuki dance to keep up believing there really are two parties still.

I dunno. Just frustrated and speculating, that's all.

[BrklynLiberal]

20. Excellent questions..and perceptive insights. I have no idea..I just do not know which

would be worse..that the Dems are so stupid they did not see it coming...or they are complicit, at least at some high party levels.

There are those that have been putting up the good fight. The Progressive Caucus, and people like Feingold and Grayson sure fought. Guess they had not been told what was supposed have been happening, or they were told, and chose not to join the fold.

[defendandprotect]

5. Process seems insane as it is ....

Look what Repugs did in Texas--!!!

[Justitia]

7. This is how TX remains very red, despite every major city being very blue!

The redistricting fiasco still upsets my stomach.

The most recent governor race.....all our major cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin) AND West TX voted for Democrat Bill White.

AND WE STILL GOT STUCK WITH RICK F'ING PERRY!!!!

That is the power of redistricting, my friends.

The places where nobody lives will rule the masses of the cities.

[Horse with no Name]

9. Rural-Jethro's Rule.

It makes me ILL!

[joshcryer]

17. What? That makes no sense. Bill White lost by 9% the *popular* vote.

[kelly1mm]

19. Not really. Statewide elections such as governor are by total popular

vote in that state, not by district. More Texans voted for Perry than White for some reason. However, by redistricting for house seats the R's can turn a 60% R voting population into a %80 R congressional delegation.

[Bill McBlueState]

21. curious

how did House redistricting affect the governor's race?

[rocktivity]

8. Won't the Senate have anything to say about this?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[struggle4progress]

11. It's done at the state level. Here in NC, Pubs control both chambers of our General Assembly

for the first time in a century.

[snot]

10. K&R'd!!!

[ProSense]

13. Here's more information

another thread on redistricting, a lot of information in the comments too.

[mzmolly]

15. I wish this were made a larger issue

prior the friggen election.

[BlueCaliDem]

18. Me too. If anything can mobilize a lazy American electorate, THIS would.

The Dems really should learn how to market fear better. It seems like it's the ONLY thing that motivates a lazy American electorate to get their arses up and off the sofa, and vote.