The GOP rigged the House: Even a massive Donald Trump defeat wouldn’t give Democrats control

Sorry, all Democrats, but it's true. This is why the Koch Brothers are spending all their money on Senate races too. They could care less about whether Trump wins or not.

GOP redistricting post-2010 was built to withstand even a landslide loss. The week's hot political story is fantasy


And for years, both sides did do it. However, what’s missing from The New York Times piece and from too much of the discussion around who controls Congress is a real understanding of how sophisticated the GOP redistricting operation was in 2010 and 2011 — and how it has made our politics more extreme both in the House and in many state legislatures. It was different, perhaps historically so, thanks to driven GOP strategists determined to take full advantage of redistricting, new mapping and demographic technologies that made it easier than ever to craft unbeatable GOP majorities, and the wave of post-Citizens United dark money which helped fund it. They called it REDMAP, for Redistricting Majority Project, and did it ever live up to its name.


http://www.salon.com/2016/04/01/no_d...ry_as_fantasy/

Just trying to help you out, OvertlySleazy

The New Intellectual Froglegs!

To the OP I call bullshit on your post. Traditionally DEMS have done poorly in senate races unless they are incumbents. Most people who are DEMS including blacks and other minority don't come out to senate races and usually show up to just the Presiential races in big numbers.

Sorry, all Democrats, but it's true. This is why the Koch Brothers are spending all their money on Senate races too. They could care less about whether Trump wins or not.

GOP redistricting post-2010 was built to withstand even a landslide loss. The week's hot political story is fantasy


And for years, both sides did do it. However, what’s missing from The New York Times piece and from too much of the discussion around who controls Congress is a real understanding of how sophisticated the GOP redistricting operation was in 2010 and 2011 — and how it has made our politics more extreme both in the House and in many state legislatures. It was different, perhaps historically so, thanks to driven GOP strategists determined to take full advantage of redistricting, new mapping and demographic technologies that made it easier than ever to craft unbeatable GOP majorities, and the wave of post-Citizens United dark money which helped fund it. They called it REDMAP, for Redistricting Majority Project, and did it ever live up to its name.


http://www.salon.com/2016/04/01/no_d...ry_as_fantasy/ Originally Posted by OverEasy

Lets hope you are right!!! When Trump loses, we need Congress to stop Hillary from fucking the country up even more...

Lets hope you are right!!! When Trump loses, we need Congress to stop Hillary from fucking the country up even more... Originally Posted by DSK

If Hillary wins, it won't matter. Liberals have depended on the courts to implement their agenda more than the Congress. When Hillary gets one or two justices appointed, it's game over. The Constitution is already on life support. Hillary will pull the plug.

If Hillary wins, it won't matter. Liberals have depended on the courts to implement their agenda more than the Congress. When Hillary gets one or two justices appointed, it's game over. The Constitution is already on life support. Hillary will pull the plug. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

you were probably spewing the same crap when Bill and Barry got elected. I get it now you are one of those Alex Jones conspiracist nut jobs.

If Hillary wins, it won't matter. Liberals have depended on the courts to implement their agenda more than the Congress. When Hillary gets one or two justices appointed, it's game over. The Constitution is already on life support. Hillary will pull the plug. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Of course. It's all done by design anyway. Hillary Clinton along with many other players will carve this country up like a Thanksgiving Turkey and when they are finished there won't be a dam thing to be thankful for, other than you aren't just starting out in life, lol.

Jim

To the OP I call bullshit on your post. Traditionally DEMS have done poorly in senate races unless they are incumbents. Most people who are DEMS including blacks and other minority don't come out to senate races and usually show up to just the Presiential races in big numbers. Originally Posted by Luke_Wyatt

Republicans Rigged the House through Gerrymandering. Democrats Can Fight Back at the Ballot Box.


Republicans have successfully used redistricting to all but ensure they'll keep control of the House of Representatives short of a 2006-style wave for Democrats. The numbers are stark: 55 percent of the nation's congressional districts were drawn to favor Republicans while only 10 percent were drawn to favor Democrats, with the balance drawn independently.

As a result, a majority of seats voted for Mitt Romney even though Barack Obama won in 2012—by four points. It should thus come as no surprise that Republicans were able to easily keep the House despite losing the popular vote that year, and there is the very real possibility this could happen again in 2016 even if Democrats hold the White House.

So what can progressives and democracy activists do to fight back against Republican efforts to rig the system? In the wake of the Supreme Court's new decision upholding the constitutionality of Arizona's independent redistricting commission, one strategy is clear: Reformers should try to institute similar changes in other states where voters can put initiatives on the ballot. Arizona and California both successfully voted for independent commission reforms that produced fair maps. There's no reason this can't happen elsewhere.

Ballot initiatives are an ideal tool for reform: They both sidestep self-interested legislators and they can appeal to reform-minded voters by avoiding any appearance of overt partisanship. And with the nation's districts already tilted sharply in favor of Republicans, Democrats need to use every tool available to eliminate that unfair advantage.


Source:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6...the-ballot-box

Republicans Rigged the House through Gerrymandering. Democrats Can Fight Back at the Ballot Box.


Republicans have successfully used redistricting to all but ensure they'll keep control of the House of Representatives short of a 2006-style wave for Democrats. The numbers are stark: 55 percent of the nation's congressional districts were drawn to favor Republicans while only 10 percent were drawn to favor Democrats, with the balance drawn independently.

As a result, a majority of seats voted for Mitt Romney even though Barack Obama won in 2012—by four points. It should thus come as no surprise that Republicans were able to easily keep the House despite losing the popular vote that year, and there is the very real possibility this could happen again in 2016 even if Democrats hold the White House.

So what can progressives and democracy activists do to fight back against Republican efforts to rig the system? In the wake of the Supreme Court's new decision upholding the constitutionality of Arizona's independent redistricting commission, one strategy is clear: Reformers should try to institute similar changes in other states where voters can put initiatives on the ballot. Arizona and California both successfully voted for independent commission reforms that produced fair maps. There's no reason this can't happen elsewhere.

Ballot initiatives are an ideal tool for reform: They both sidestep self-interested legislators and they can appeal to reform-minded voters by avoiding any appearance of overt partisanship. And with the nation's districts already tilted sharply in favor of Republicans, Democrats need to use every tool available to eliminate that unfair advantage.


Source:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6...the-ballot-box Originally Posted by OverEasy

Just an FYI for your ignorant ass, Silly Suzy Simpleton, "Gerry" -- the eponymous source of "Gerrymander" -- was a dim-retard, you silly slut.

Republicans Rigged the House through Gerrymandering. Originally Posted by OverEasy

Thank God. Assuming Hillary wins, and she probably will, the House may be the only thing standing in the way of another Carter administration, that is, four years of hell. I read an article recently on her thinking about the economy, and fear I misjudged her. I was hopeful she was cut from the same cloth as her husband. But now I'm beginning to think she's Bernie Sanders in sheep's clothing, or at least she will be if Democrats sweep Congress and she doesn't have to triangulate.

Just an FYI for your ignorant ass, Silly Suzy Simpleton, "Gerry" -- the eponymous source of "Gerrymander" -- was a dim-retard, you silly slut. Originally Posted by I B Hankering

Lol! Don't tell me the Dems invented gerrymandering? And now they're bitching when it's used against them? Oh, dear! Karma's a bitch!

Why is it that the Dems are always the ones who are leading the race to the bottom in our politics? They're always so quick to jettison long-standing rules and traditions for short-term advantage, without giving a thought to the possibility that this could be a two-edged sword if the opposition finds itself in a position to exploit the same rule changes down the road. Think the Biden Rule. Or Harry Reid pushing through the nuclear option in the Senate. The Dems are always the original instigators of the bad behavior they whine about in others!

And the worst part is how they act so holier-than-thou whenever anyone else adopts the same fuck-the-rules and take-no-prisoners approach they invented!

.

Lol! Don't tell me the Dems invented gerrymandering? And now they're bitching when it's used against them? Oh, dear! Karma's a bitch! Why is it that the Dems are always the ones who are leading the race to the bottom in our politics, always quick to jettison long-standing rules and traditions without giving a thought to the possibility that it could be a two-edged sword if the opposition finds itself in a position to exploit the same rule changes. Think the Biden Rule. Or Harry Reid pushing through the nuclear option in the Senate. The Dems are always the original instigators of the bad behavior they whine about in others! Originally Posted by lustylad

Etymology

Printed in March 1812, this political cartoon was drawn in reaction to the newly drawn state senate election district of South Essex created by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the Democratic-Republican Party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists.



The caricature satirizes the bizarre shape of a district in Essex County, Massachusetts, as a dragon-like "monster". Federalist newspaper editors and others at the time likened the district shape to a salamander, and the word gerrymander was a blend of that word and Governor Gerry's last name.

The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on 26 March 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts under Governor Elbridge Gerry (pronounced /ˈɡɛri/; 1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. (Wiki)

The Democratic Party of the United States is the oldest voter-based political party in the world, tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson's and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party. (Wiki)

There ought to be a computer program that could generate Congressional districts in a non-partisan manner, with the fewest corners, bends and curves.

Thanks for putting the topic into historical context, IB. What say you, SassyPoo? Did ya learn anything from those Wikipedia pages?