A Real Government Shut Down . . . ?

[Jim Craik]

...and of course the Democrats N-E-V-E-R indulge in that...do they. :lol:

You stated above how many votes House libs have supposedly gotten over GOPs . If that be the case, it's clear the GOP must not be too talented in the 'Gerrying' dept or they'd own both congress AND the White House wouldn't they....which in turn would clearly suggest the libs MUST be pretty skilled at it since only a couple of years ago the libs netted a super majority in BOTH houses and they owned the White House too...'innit'.

But, you bring up a good subject: gerrymandering. It's a practice that's c-r-o-o-k-e-d to its core no matter WHICH side does it. Voting districts should be laid out geometrically/geographically in a uniform grid pattern consisting of equal-sized 'squares' laid out over a map of any given area - 'no POLITICAL crap involved.

'Just MHO...

Larry, Gerrymandaring would have no effect on the Senate or the Presidency, only House votes would be effected and they were. By the way in order to promote fair elections, California did away with gerrymandering.

It cost Democrats many house seats, but fair election are much more important than winning.

Jerry Brown signed the law and now there are four States that have outlawed Gerrymandering, Maryland, New York, Delaware and California, notice a trend? They are all Democratic states as well as two of the top three in population and House seats.

Larry you are right, gerrymandering is "crooked to the core" its nice to see that at least some Democrats are doing something about it. Perhaps you should consider leaving the dark side and help make America a better place for Democracy.

********

The Great Gerrymander of 2012

By SAM WANG

Having the first modern democracy comes with bugs. Normally we would expect more seats in Congress to go to the political party that receives more votes, but the last election confounded expectations. Democrats received 1.4 million more votes for the House of Representatives, yet Republicans won control of the House by a 234 to 201 margin. This is only the second such reversal since World War II.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, a Washington-based political group dedicated to electing state officeholders, recently issued a progress report on Redmap, its multiyear plan to influence redistricting. The $30 million strategy consists of two steps for tilting the playing field: take over state legislatures before the decennial Census, then redraw state and Congressional districts to lock in partisan advantages. The plan was highly successful.

Surprisingly absent from the guilty list is California, where 62 percent of the two-party vote went to Democrats and the average mock delegation of 38 Democrats and 15 Republicans exactly matched the newly elected delegation. Notably, California voters took redistricting out of legislators’ hands by creating the California Bipartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission.


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Larry, its apparent that at this time, in a fair election, the Republicans can not win the support of the people.....

So their only chance is to Gerrymander where they can and try and limit who can vote and when they can vote.

That sound you hear is the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

You must be very proud!

 

[Larry L.]

Larry, Gerrymandaring would have no effect on the Senate or the Presidency, only House votes would be effected and they were. By the way in order to promote fair elections, California did away with gerrymandering.

It cost Democrats many house seats, but fair election are much more important than winning.

Jerry Brown signed the law and now there are four States that have outlawed Gerrymandering, Maryland, New York, Delaware and California, notice a trend? They are all Democratic states as well as two of the top three in population and House seats.

Larry you are right, gerrymandering is "crooked to the core" its nice to see that at least some Democrats are doing something about it. Perhaps you should consider leaving the dark side and help make America a better place for Democracy.

********

The Great Gerrymander of 2012

By SAM WANG

Having the first modern democracy comes with bugs. Normally we would expect more seats in Congress to go to the political party that receives more votes, but the last election confounded expectations. Democrats received 1.4 million more votes for the House of Representatives, yet Republicans won control of the House by a 234 to 201 margin. This is only the second such reversal since World War II.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, a Washington-based political group dedicated to electing state officeholders, recently issued a progress report on Redmap, its multiyear plan to influence redistricting. The $30 million strategy consists of two steps for tilting the playing field: take over state legislatures before the decennial Census, then redraw state and Congressional districts to lock in partisan advantages. The plan was highly successful.

Surprisingly absent from the guilty list is California, where 62 percent of the two-party vote went to Democrats and the average mock delegation of 38 Democrats and 15 Republicans exactly matched the newly elected delegation. Notably, California voters took redistricting out of legislators’ hands by creating the California Bipartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission.


***************

Larry, its apparent that at this time, in a fair election, the Republicans can not win the support of the people.....

So their only chance is to Gerrymander where they can and try and limit who can vote and when they can vote.

That sound you hear is the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

You must be very proud!

Good lord...WHERE do I begin...and, in the end, what GOOD would it do?
The premises from which you make deductions are so saturated in Kool-aid you'd need to be dried out first.

Take this gem:

"...Gerrymandaring would have no effect on the Senate or the Presidency, only House votes would be effected..."

Really? Senators and presidents AREN'T elected by people voting in gerrymandered districts DESIGNED to tilt the voting booth in ONE party's direction? Seriously?

Or this one:

"Perhaps you should consider leaving the dark side and help make America a BETTER PLACE for Democracy."

Oh, yeah, we've SEEN how much "better" America has become by handing it over to a SUPER MAJORITY of Democrats and a Demo president during the past 5 years haven't we: 'record unemployment, 'labor force participation rate at its lowest since 1978, 'record number of people on food stamps, 'record number of people below the poverty line, consumer prices UP 10%, gas prices DOUBLE what they were before Obama, household income OFF 5%, federal debt and deficits at record levels with no end in sight, interest on savings is practically ZERO, U.S. foreign policy is an ineffective JOKE, aaaaaaaaaaaand to top it off, the current administration tells one provable LIE after another...and then LIES about the lies...not to mention it's thrown the constitution into the circular file.

Yep...I darn sure ought to sign up with the Dems - and so should everyone else. We really need several more years like the last 5. :evil:

On second thought...I think I'll remain an Independent.

Dinner's ready...

 

[Jim Craik]

Larry,

I dont understand, Senators are elected state wide, each state has two.

Congressinal districts are a relatively small area that can be manipulated to include or exclude neighborhoods that tend to vote one way or the other. That's called gerrymandering.

How would gerrymandering effect a US Senate race?

 

[Larry L.]

Larry,

I dont understand, Senators are elected state wide, each state has two.

Congressinal districts are a relatively small area that can be manipulated to include or exclude neighborhoods that tend to vote one way or the other. That's called gerrymandering.

How would gerrymandering effect a Senate race?

:stunned:

"State wide" senate candidates are elected by the sum total of the votes they receive STATE WIDE from all the precincts in the state. If the majority of those precincts are gerrymandered toward one party or another, what would the odds be it'd affect the election's outcome? Ditto re: a presidential race.

 

[Jim Craik]

But they are still standard polling places, for instance, all the ballots would have the state wide races for Senator and a race for President....

Then depending what "House District" you happen to be in there would also be those House cadidates in that particular district.

But the Senate and President would be on all the ballots, how would they be effected by the abatrary lines of a Congesinal district?

The count up all the votes STATE WIDE and declare a winner, the House votes have no effect on that.

Gerrymandering would only have an effect on the House of Rep race.

 

[Larry L.]

Like I said:

...in the end, what GOOD would it do?

Happy Easter, Jim.