Democrats in Some States are Refusing to Cheat in Redistricting


I happen to live in a state where, when population changes and political districts need to be redrawn, a panel including both Democrats and Republicans convenes to draw the new lines. In many states, the party controlling the legislature draws the lines in such a way as to give the current majority an even better chance of winning the next election cycle. 

Republicans have been especially aggressive at taking advantage of this in recent decades. This is given as the reason they do so well in the House of Representatives.

Democrats made some gains, especially in suburban districts, and gained majorities in some states. Many democrats expected their party to redraw the lines to take back what Republicans have gained. There is frustration they are not always doing this. Some call it the Democrats "curse of good government."  Paraphrasing it says, "We must cheat like Republicans or they will eat our lunch."

The latter have a point certainly. At the moment, Democrats have to defend the rights of gay people to get married just because cheating in redistricting put more Republicans in Congress than polls show support Republican positions. The same with abortion. 

The anti abortion "Hyde Amendment" was named after Henry Hyde. His House district in suburbs north of Chicago was Democratic until a few years before he ran for the seat. Redistricting made is easier for Republicans to win. Now it has switched to Democratic again. 

I think Democrats are often hurt by their "good government" instincts in the short run but perhaps helped in the long run. We now see the long road for Obamacare finally cleared of Republican obstacles. Also, large city suburbs, long carefully gerrymandered because they had a history of being majority Republican, switching to Democrat. 

This suggests that scheming based on historical voting patterns does not always yield expected results. Democrats may be thinking drawing redistrict lines based on convenience for voters may yield better results for them in the long run than what Republican have been doing for decades. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make...
Read more

Who Suffers from a "Hardened Heart"

Image
Some years ago on this blog there was a discussion about what the Bible calls "The hardened heart." The "hardened heart" was the explanation given for why people like me cannot accept the tenets of Christianity. We are unable to believe there are floating spirits and gods or imaginary places people go when the die. Now, a prominent Christian preacher and author has given us a way to diagnose the "hardened heart." It contained some surprises.  Rev. John Piper, who spoke about the hardened heart, said we can see this in a person who lacks "ordinary tenderness and compassion." He went on to describe the characteristics of a person without the affliction of the hardened heart. A healthy person displays empathy and sympathy. Those with the hardened heart are like stone. Jesus wanted compassion for the poor. The hardened heart discussion referred to atheists only if they are sinners and then it was indirectly. Sin, Piper said, hardens one's heart a...
Read more

Young Women can see Bull$hit a Mile Away

Image
Republicans including their Forced Birth subgroup is bother by recent election results and polling. All show young women going to the left. A poll shows young women are 30% more likely to be very liberal than young men. The link advises the Forced Birth community to give young pregnant women an uplifting message. The message suggested is, "Buck up. You've got this. You can give birth and have a happy life." Another way of saying this is, "It will be OK if you miss work and/or are fired because of the birth. If you cannot make your rent payment, it's OK. Somewhere out there is another place to live. We don't know where but be optimistic."   This is an add on to the new version of the Forced Birth message, "We're for both the baby and the mother." They are not and never have been for the mother. Their message has always been to condemn women who have abortions. Now, the "thoughts and prayers" message, which costs no money, it the me...
Read more