BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering

Subject: BS: Fresh Air: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 12:50 AM

Yesterday's Fresh Air (click) program was a revelation to me. The show's Website's explanation of the program was:

Ratf**ked author David Daley says that Republicans targeted key state legislative races in 2010 in an effort to control state houses, and, eventually, Congressional redistricting.

I couldn't understand from the broadcast that the guest's book was called Ratfucked, maybe because I hadn't heard the term before. But hey, there's a Wikipedial article about it, so we all should understand the term [an American slang term for political sabotage or dirty tricks. It was first brought to public attention by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their book All the President's Men.]

Substitute host Dave Davies said that in the 2012 election, voters cast 1.3 million more ballots for Democratic House candidates than Republican ones. But somehow, we ended up with 247 Republicans and 188 Democrats in the House, and 54 Republicans and 44 Democrats (and 2 Independents) in the Senate ((click) [office of the Clerk of the House]. So, how did this happen? Ratfucked author David Daley says it was all done by strategic, nationwide redistricting after the 2010 census. Worse yet, Daley thinks it will take a generation to correct this legerdemain.

If Daley is right, then we may get a vast majority to defeat Trump in the 2016 election, and still have a huge Republican majority in both the House and the Senate. Is this nightmare really true? Can anything be done to fix it?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 08:51 AM

Is this nightmare really true?

Yes.

Can anything be done to fix it?

No.


So, how did this happen?

Republican state legislatures have been atthis for quite a while, Joe, and its been reported on & off in the News Media for some years now.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: EBarnacle
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 09:19 AM

Yes we can fix this--but not until the 2020 redistricting after the census. Until then, we have to get supermajorities to turn Red districts Blue. Remember, this all happens in the legislatures.
Keep moving folks. Nothing to see; no partisanship here.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 11:24 AM

And if Democrats win the House in 2020 and get to control the redrawing of the districts, they will likely overdo it in THEIR favor. It's just too tempting.
A solution? Sure... farm out the project to an international committee from...oh, say Iceland, Sweden, the Maldives, Japan and Ecuador.

I won't hold my breath at either party agreeing to this, 'cause I don't look good in blue.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 12:26 PM

Democrats ... will likely overdo it in THEIR favor.

Likely, certainly, but not to the blatantly outrageous extent the Republicruds have done. Haven't seen it this bad since the 19th Century.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 01:36 PM

How does it come about that those kind of things are decided by political bodies anyway? Republican or Democrat.

You've got an "Election Assistance Commission" which should ensure fair and democratic arrangements. If that can't do the job maybe Bill D's suggestion is best - farm the responsibility out to some other country which knows about how to run genuinely democratic elections.
.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: robomatic
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 03:08 PM

I heard the same broadcast and although I'd heard the loose stories of political hijinks among our Republicans I'd not heard the wretched details. One point made by the author was that in order to succeed at this activity the Democrats had to be asleep at the wheel.


"For evil to triumph it only suffices for good men to do nothing."

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 06:28 PM

Guess you were asleep at the wheel too, Robo! ;>)

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 07:58 PM

Maybe, must maybe, Trump will drag down a lot of Republican congressional candidates with him when he crashes in flames in November. Wouldn't that be nice?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 08:31 PM

Trump will drag down a lot of Republican congressional candidates with him

Not much of a chance, Joe - wishful thinking. There's still millions of brain-dead U.S. voters that think the Trumpshit is wonderful.

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jun 16 - 08:48 PM

Greg, I'm thinking the Democrats will draw a much larger number of moderate and "undecided" voters this year. No, we won't get the conservatives, but I'm thinking the real conservatives are less than 30%
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: Greg F.
Date: 18 Jun 16 - 11:34 AM

I'd like to believe you, Joe, but H.L. Mencken keeps whispering in my ear that "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste or the intelligence of the American people".

Subject: RE: BS: Fresh Air Radio: Congressional Gerrymandering
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Jun 16 - 08:53 PM

So what would be the process by which Gerrymandered electoral boundaries would be rectified, with guarantees against it returning? Other countries have reasonably effective systems for that kind of thing.