interesting article in the Atlantic yesterday: * "What makes this moment deeply alarming—and makes Republicans’ overwhelming silence and tacit approval deeply dangerous, rather than merely an attempt to run out the clock on the president’s clownish behavior—is that Trump’s attempt to steal this election builds on a process that has already entrenched minority rule around the country. In North Carolina, where I live, only three of the state’s 13 representatives in the House were Democrats after the 2014 congressional election, despite Democrats getting 44 percent of the vote. In 2016, the Democratic Party’s vote share in the state increased to 47 percent, but still only three representatives were Democrats. In 2018, Democrats won an even larger share of the vote—48.3 percent—but still had only three representatives. In 2019, North Carolina’s blatantly gerrymandered district maps were finally struck down by the Supreme Court. And so, this year, the Democrats managed a meager increase in representation—five representatives out of 13—despite again receiving 48 percent of the vote. David Frum: The raw desperation of the Republican Party Who draws these grossly unfair maps, which are typical of others across the country? The state legislatures, which themselves are often elected using maps that reflect unrepresentative gerrymandering. In North Carolina in 2016, for example, the Republicans won a veto-proof supermajority in the state House of Representatives—obtaining more than two thirds of the seats—despite winning just 52 percent of the vote. Statewide races cannot be similarly gerrymandered, though, and that year, North Carolina voters elected a Democratic governor and attorney general. In response, the lame-duck legislature rushed to take away key powers from those offices. They succeeded. The general assembly then used its veto-proof majority to override 23 of Governor Roy Cooper’s 28 vetoes in the first three years of his term, rendering one of his key remaining powers effectively useless. In Wisconsin in 2018, Republicans won a near-veto-proof supermajority in the state legislature with a minority of the votes in the state. That same year, Republican Governor Scott Walker lost his bid for reelection, and Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general were also defeated—again, statewide offices resist gerrymandering. After the loss, the Wisconsin state legislature followed the same playbook as the GOP in North Carolina, rushing, in a lame-duck session, to take away crucial powers previously exercised by Walker. The lawsuits filed by Democrats were rejected by the Republican-dominated state supreme court. When voters try to contest gerrymanders or power grabs, many of the cases end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, where lifetime appointments are made by the president but approved by the Senate. The Senate is so lopsided right now that 26 states containing just 17 percent of the U.S. population elect a majority of senators—the smallest that proportion has ever been. That’s the people in the smallest 26 states. The Republican Party’s Senate majority in recent years has rested on its strength in these rural states. Barack Obama couldn’t even get a Senate hearing for his last nominee to the Supreme Court. Today, the United States has a House filled with gerrymandered districts, a Senate dramatically tilted toward rural states, some state legislatures controlled by electoral minorities or slim majorities who get to exercise power as if they were overwhelming, and a Supreme Court with three justices appointed by a president who lost the popular vote. Is it any wonder that Trump thinks he can defy the results of the election and cling to power despite losing an election? Or that his party does not stand up for the will of voters?" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...inept-and-deadly-serious-coup-attempt/617309/
Five of the nine Supreme Court justices have been nominated by presidents who have lost the popular vote. The below article doesn’t include the rush job of Amy Coney Barrett. https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-justices-president-popular-vote-1156542
Another side bar is no none of the above surprises me, this is essentially the same party that owned slaves. It’s essentially the same party that seceded from the country because Lincoln was elected president. It’s essentially the same party that lead the confederacy to declare war on the United States. It’s the same party that has been using g laws to disenfranchise people for generations, so no, I am not surprised.
That is a subversion of the voice of the people. Pretty sad to see political parties going to some corrupt fucking lengths like that to stay in power. And the Supreme Court is cool with it, even though it is clearly unconstitutional. To be fair the Democrats have done it too, though mostly in response to the Republicans doing it. There are four times as many states with Republican gerrymamdered legislatures than there are Democratic ones. Either way it is bullshit and nearly impossible to stop. Our government is so fucking corrupted and skewed against the favor of the majority. It sickens me.
If you were wondering gerrymandering began with Elbridge Gerry, the fifth vice president, who "gerrymandered" legislative lines in Massachusetts after becoming Governor in 1810. He remapped district lines to give his party advantage. He was a member of the Democratic - Republican party.
Gerrymandering has been brought up before. There has been little discussion...simply each side saying the other side has done it. I think it would benefit the thread and perhaps advance further discourse on the matter to actually list the facts here. Who started it ? Where have both parties done it? Where is currently being done (What states and by who?) How does it effect voting and the people's voice? Is it unconstitutional? What can be done about it? Etc
I found this article that’s kind of interesting on that topic: https://www.google.com/amp/s/observer.com/2019/07/gerrymandering-democrats-house-analysis/amp/
I realize that is like asking the three stooges to be serious, but hey I figure I should make an attempt at turning the norm of finger pointing into actual discussion. Even if it is futile.
All I know is Trump appointed Supreme Court judges to bail him out and now they are all acting like they don’t know him and it’s awsoeme. It reminds me of Can’t Buy Me Love when Ronald left the party once everyone found out he paid for Cindy to be his girlfriend. If you know you know. If you don’t, you need to find this movie and watch it
