OK, you guys in Maryland, Illinois, and Virginia. Time to step up the pressure on your legislators to redistrict. We worked hard in California for Prop 50- and won. Now it’s your turn!
Illinois is already aggressively gerrymandered. 14 of 17 House seats are held by Democrats. It sounds as if Illinois could squeeze out one more seat for Democrats but there could be downsides to that.
Georgia is a case study in how to make voting harder for people who are most likely to vote for Democrats. Other states have similar strategies. I keep hearing people say that many black voters stayed home for the 2024 elections. What if they tried to vote, only to discover they couldn't?
I have posted the following elsewhere, but I think its worth repeating in many places.
Here are several things Georgia has done already:
1. Conveniently locate plenty of polling places in areas where Republicans are most likely to vote.
2. Deliberately place too few polling places in areas dominated by Democrats and make those locations hard to get to, such as away from bus lines. Having too few places means longer lines, and working-class people may not be able to wait for hours in line and give up.
3. Don't let people provide water or food to people waiting in line to vote.
4. Outlaw mobile voting (polling sites on wheels, made illegal in Georgia in 2021), something which had only been done in Fulton County starting after voters had problems during the primary elections in 2020 and in time for the November 2020 elections. This county has the largest Black population in the state. Mobile voting was created because “We faced many challenges back in June [when the primary elections were held]” said Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts. Guess who won, barely, in 2020: Biden. Republicans weren't going to let that happen again. Outlawing mobile voting, rather than expanding it to all counties, was one of their solutions.
5. Make it easy for any state resident to challenge a voter's qualifications to vote, and allow such challenges up to only 45 days before an election without even notifying the voter so removed from the registration rolls. See the movie "Vigilantes Inc.: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen" about the findings of investigative reporter Greg Palast.
I imagine additional barriers that may exist when the line is long:
4. Don't provide any place to sit for people waiting in line.
5. No bathrooms nearby.
6. No shelter from the rain, cold or sun while in line.
So I guess the counter-strategies for those measures would be to:
1. Be involved in how many polling places in each district and where they are located.
2. Inform people in advance of what the lines are likely to be like and what they should bring with them, such as food, water, rain gear, sun hats.
3. Have a place for people to borrow small, lightweight portable chairs to bring with them before they get in line, if lines are going to be inevitable.
4. Have volunteers available to hold a person's place in line for them so they can go use the bathroom.
5. Let people know where the nearest bathrooms are. If really long lines are expected, how about bringing in chemical toilets, if a place could be found to set them up?
Then help people get there:
1. Free rides for voters who need them.
2. Childcare so parents can go vote.
I urge anyone who has time and/or money to help people vote to join with organizations dedicated to helping voters vote, such as voteriders.org, rideshare2vote.com, or League of Women Voters.
Finally, pay attention to what's happening with voting machines. SMART Elections is working hard to protect election integrity; they have a Substack channel and a website at https://smartelections.us/ .
Perhaps voting systems are a public good that needs strong public oversight. Do we have that? We would do well to find out what voting system is being used in each state and who owns it.
Dominion Voting Systems was bought by Scott Leiendecker early last month:
"Scott Leiendecker, the founder and chairman of Liberty Vote and sole owner of Dominion Voting Systems, is a former GOP election reform advocate who has made his mark on election technology.
"Leiendecker officially acquired Dominion as the sole private owner under Liberty Vote... The acquisition brings Dominion under full American ownership and was contingent upon the company ending multiple ongoing lawsuits against prominent conservatives and One America News Network (OANN)..."
So I would love to see us all using yard signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and lapel pins that say thins like: WE THE PEOPLE! or VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!, or LET'S CELEBRATE IN NOVEMBER 2026! And any other ways to show our engagement with turning this all around!!!
It's incredible how SCOTUS has been slowly helping build the minority rule fiasco in which we're living. With decisions like Bush V. Gore (the Miami Herald, in its own election recount, determined Gore won Florida. Meanwhile, SCOTUS granted Trump several recounts, including three in Georgia), Citizens United (billionaires can buy the court and candidates), and now this district gerrymandering, this is cheating out in the open. I'm not sure what the Democrats could have done about it, but if RBG had retired as soon as she heard the C word, had Obama fought McConnell more aggressively, Newsom style, on voting on Merrick Garland's SCOTUS appointment, had the Biden administration been more aggressive holding Trump accountable after he took office in 2021, and Garland investigated Thomas and Alito for taking bribes, perhaps we wouldn't be in this precarious situation. As were millions of Americans, I was elated after Tuesday night's country-wide bitch-slap to the Republicans. But unfortunately, that just meant they're now digging deeper to cheat their way to a majority, and the fix is still in at the Supreme Court.
The first thing I would like to see is impeachment of corrupt SCOTUS judges by the House and removal by the Senate. But we have to reclaim House and Senate both in order to do that.
I hear what you are saying, but with regard to Obama, I think he had to keep a somewhat low profile due to the rampant racial prejudice in our country. I, too, would have liked to see him fight for Garland on the SCOTUS, but we were not in his shoes and therefore can't really second-guess him. IMO.
Obama fought tooth and nail, albeit with dignity, to wine the most high-profile job in the world. And while he was, he did a great job of addressing racial prejudice. We now need a Chicago street fighter, not a laid-back Hawaiian. If he'd gotten in the ring sooner, who knows what might have been different.
I'm all for a Chicago street fighter, much as I love Obama. That's just one reason I hate what the Texas map gerrymander has done, because if it is allowed to stand, we would lose Jasmine Crockett's seat, and she is a really good fighter. I could easily see her being the next Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, I don't think Jasmine is ready for the presidency.
One can hope that you are correct. From what I have seen she is very well liked, and she has proven herself to be worthy of her office. She has way more of a chance to keep her seat than Veronica Escobar, who is probably not known beyond the people she represents.
Equally unfortunately, I don’t believe the country is ready for her. Kamala Harris stands as an example of “well. I know Trump is terrible, but oh my God, a woman of color president no no no no no” via that middle undecided third of the voters.
Democrats, independents and republicans who see the errors of their ways need to start assembling RIGHT NOW the best and the brightest team of strategists and lawyers, money people and organizers to beat the asshole and vought and their brown shirts who have already put together a ground game for rigging the midterms. We need to be outsmart and surprise them at every turn. We need to get on it now, get ahead of them, convince courts that the creeps are wrong, and not let up until Election Day 2026.
You're so right. On inauguration day they hit the ground running with their game plan, their ground game, already in place. I fear the Dems have not done this. Mayor Mamdani should give them tutorials.
For years Democrats have made the mistake of assuming that court rulings, federal laws, and national messages crafted by consultants would keep them in power. That was a massive fail: since the turn of the 21st century, that formula has seen a steady erosion of Democratic power and influence. Once-purple states have turned deep red as Democrats have abandoned local organization in favor of national narratives. Through it all, reactionary judges have waged war on voting rights and the Republican propaganda machine has churned out toxins.
The way to win is what it always was: to organize on a granular, local level. To meet the people where they live. To run candidates who respond to local concerns and issues. To register people to vote, and then to invest the time and effort it takes to get them to the polls.
The preening consultants at their Washington cocktail parties forgot all that long ago. They prefer to remain safe and warm inside their cozy power bubble chock-a-block with dark money, while state organizations languish and die away.
Time for Democrats to roll up their shirtsleeves and get to work. Let Carville enjoy his cocktail parties and his elegant donor-funded lifestyle, while the real movers and shakers get out there in the states and begin to rebuild what Carville and his cronies have dismantled: strong, effective, focused local political organizations ("machines," if you will).
Time to recognize that people don't vote Democratic in Alabama or Montana or Iowa for the same reason they vote Democratic in Connecticut or Manhattan. Time to recognize that "all politics is local," and get out there to do the groundwork that wins elections.
It’s a great view Norm gives us of how he and his colleagues are working on systemic electoral counter-attacks. Every day there's so much new to be outraged about: whack-a-mole in 3D. “He” can't find money for SNAP but he can find money for wasteful investigations (foreign meatpackers?) and frivolous lawsuits. For a tacky ballroom-to-come and an even tackier bathroom completed. For golf trips to Florida every weekend. For hosting international despots. He ignores European allies and murders our hemispheric neighbors. And he's now calling himself the hero of affordability and slayer of inflation? He boasts, he lies. He drags us to the verge of civil war. But he doesn't lead, doesn’tgovern, and Mr. Art-of-the-Deal doesn't negotiate with Congress to solve national problems. Letitia James was right: he’s a fraud. As irate Americans used to scream, “Sue the b*stard!” Thanks for doing just this for us, Norm.
I've always said that in the land of thieves, the honest person is a damned fool!
Another relevant saying:
You don't send Little Lord Fauntleroy out to do battle against Bluto. It takes a street fighter to go toe to toe with another street fighter
It's great that Illinois and Maryland are considering gerrymandering Repugnican'ts out of the House, but the problem is that their delegations are already so blue that there aren't many seats to be gained. What we need is for states like New York, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania-- states that have a fair number of seats held by the GQP-- to follow suit!
Political gerrymandering in Blue states hurts Conservatives in those states by denying them the right to choose their specific representatives. But, failure to do so hurts Democrats nationwide by affecting potential control of the House. North Carolina already stole control of the House for the Republicans last election.
It's only cheating if one side plays by a different set of rules than the other and political gerrymandering is currently legal. We shouldn't even be wringing our hands over this. Gerrymandering is an issue to be addressed by the next House, but only if Democrats regain control.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
It was really gratifying to see American Voters step up in an off-year election and tell the rethugs what we think of them. Now comes the hard part. We need to pepper our Congress Critters to find the funds for a yearlong advertising campaign to help the rest of the Voters see that we are the ones who have their back. If you can afford it give to your local and state races. Don't waste your money on PACs or the DNC. Maybe the DSCC and the DCCC will be safe. Keep your Reps' and Senators feet to the fire to stand up for the people being harmed the most by the rethugs. And, if the opportunity arises, protest!
was the last person in that TN seat a democrat? If not, having a republican win the seat would not change the vote on the discharge petition. (Would still be better to have a democrat win it, for all the other reasons...)
I wonder how South Carolina's Tim Scott (R) squares his personal beliefs and background with the overtly racist moves of his fellow Republicans in their gerrymandering charge to disenfranchise blacks and minorities. Is he really a died-in-the-wool MAGA kind of guy?
The SCOTUS decision in Callais v. LA scares me. The newly gerrymandered map of Texas gets rid of votes for those of us who live in El Paso, which is about 85% Hispanic. We will definitely lose representation if that map is allowed to stand, and it gets rid of two of Texas' best house reps: Veronica Escobar (who represents El Paso) and Jasmine Crockett (Dallas area). Losing our representation will be very hard on our city. I really hope other blue states do step up and make sure that the democrats have a chance to win elections. California's solution was a good one - let the voters decide, and go back to their non-partisan map drawing with the new census.
Norman Eisen's article above states what we know, and of course, we never know what this current Court will do. But the one issue that seems to be missing in his article is addressing what Republican States are already doing to prepare for a vote in their favor, is what Democratic states are doing. Are there any states like California, preparing to redistrict to offset the Republicans? I have previously read that many Democratic governors do not believe they should follow California because it sets a bad precedent. That, to me, displays a lack of solidarity in the effort to reinstate, or save our democracy!
Regardless, the point is, what are the Democrats doing now to counter the hard work of the Republican States that may not have announced their game plan yet? Why are we not reading that for every Republican State that gerrymanders will be met with a Democratic State? Is there a consensus of any kind on this issue, and if so, wouldn't it be wise to advertise that, especially in the States mentioned in the article? Of course, after last Tuesday, Republicans may just decide that, regardless of rigging the election, it would be best to just declare a security crisis and delay the midterm election completely!
Dems: Stop bringing a knife to a gun fight. At the same time, the various subsets of the party need to think hard about the various audiences we are trying to persuade and what arguments would appeal to the broadest number, not just what appeals to each individual group. We have to get Dems elected first or we're dead in the water second.
“And we must be ready to vigorously litigate bad maps in the court of law and the court of public opinion.”
How can one “litigate bad maps in the court of law“ when the Supreme Court has okayed partisan gerrymandering and probably will OK elimination of minority opportunity districts?
OK, you guys in Maryland, Illinois, and Virginia. Time to step up the pressure on your legislators to redistrict. We worked hard in California for Prop 50- and won. Now it’s your turn!
Go for it! 💙🇺🇸
Illinois is already aggressively gerrymandered. 14 of 17 House seats are held by Democrats. It sounds as if Illinois could squeeze out one more seat for Democrats but there could be downsides to that.
https://news.wttw.com/2025/11/04/what-redistricting-efforts-could-mean-illinois-voters
Thanks. Important points to ponder.
Love reading this!
The American people must vote in overwhelming numbers!!!!!
There is more to do to protect elections.
Georgia is a case study in how to make voting harder for people who are most likely to vote for Democrats. Other states have similar strategies. I keep hearing people say that many black voters stayed home for the 2024 elections. What if they tried to vote, only to discover they couldn't?
I have posted the following elsewhere, but I think its worth repeating in many places.
Here are several things Georgia has done already:
1. Conveniently locate plenty of polling places in areas where Republicans are most likely to vote.
2. Deliberately place too few polling places in areas dominated by Democrats and make those locations hard to get to, such as away from bus lines. Having too few places means longer lines, and working-class people may not be able to wait for hours in line and give up.
3. Don't let people provide water or food to people waiting in line to vote.
4. Outlaw mobile voting (polling sites on wheels, made illegal in Georgia in 2021), something which had only been done in Fulton County starting after voters had problems during the primary elections in 2020 and in time for the November 2020 elections. This county has the largest Black population in the state. Mobile voting was created because “We faced many challenges back in June [when the primary elections were held]” said Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts. Guess who won, barely, in 2020: Biden. Republicans weren't going to let that happen again. Outlawing mobile voting, rather than expanding it to all counties, was one of their solutions.
5. Make it easy for any state resident to challenge a voter's qualifications to vote, and allow such challenges up to only 45 days before an election without even notifying the voter so removed from the registration rolls. See the movie "Vigilantes Inc.: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen" about the findings of investigative reporter Greg Palast.
I imagine additional barriers that may exist when the line is long:
4. Don't provide any place to sit for people waiting in line.
5. No bathrooms nearby.
6. No shelter from the rain, cold or sun while in line.
So I guess the counter-strategies for those measures would be to:
1. Be involved in how many polling places in each district and where they are located.
2. Inform people in advance of what the lines are likely to be like and what they should bring with them, such as food, water, rain gear, sun hats.
3. Have a place for people to borrow small, lightweight portable chairs to bring with them before they get in line, if lines are going to be inevitable.
4. Have volunteers available to hold a person's place in line for them so they can go use the bathroom.
5. Let people know where the nearest bathrooms are. If really long lines are expected, how about bringing in chemical toilets, if a place could be found to set them up?
Then help people get there:
1. Free rides for voters who need them.
2. Childcare so parents can go vote.
I urge anyone who has time and/or money to help people vote to join with organizations dedicated to helping voters vote, such as voteriders.org, rideshare2vote.com, or League of Women Voters.
Finally, pay attention to what's happening with voting machines. SMART Elections is working hard to protect election integrity; they have a Substack channel and a website at https://smartelections.us/ .
Perhaps voting systems are a public good that needs strong public oversight. Do we have that? We would do well to find out what voting system is being used in each state and who owns it.
Dominion Voting Systems was bought by Scott Leiendecker early last month:
"Scott Leiendecker, the founder and chairman of Liberty Vote and sole owner of Dominion Voting Systems, is a former GOP election reform advocate who has made his mark on election technology.
"Leiendecker officially acquired Dominion as the sole private owner under Liberty Vote... The acquisition brings Dominion under full American ownership and was contingent upon the company ending multiple ongoing lawsuits against prominent conservatives and One America News Network (OANN)..."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/meet-the-republican-who-just-bought-dominion-voting-machines/ar-AA1OeLwV
https://apnews.com/article/dominion-voting-liberty-vote-2020-conspiracy-theories-fed1e2d7f00b264bf5f8e01a106124f1
So I would love to see us all using yard signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and lapel pins that say thins like: WE THE PEOPLE! or VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!, or LET'S CELEBRATE IN NOVEMBER 2026! And any other ways to show our engagement with turning this all around!!!
It's incredible how SCOTUS has been slowly helping build the minority rule fiasco in which we're living. With decisions like Bush V. Gore (the Miami Herald, in its own election recount, determined Gore won Florida. Meanwhile, SCOTUS granted Trump several recounts, including three in Georgia), Citizens United (billionaires can buy the court and candidates), and now this district gerrymandering, this is cheating out in the open. I'm not sure what the Democrats could have done about it, but if RBG had retired as soon as she heard the C word, had Obama fought McConnell more aggressively, Newsom style, on voting on Merrick Garland's SCOTUS appointment, had the Biden administration been more aggressive holding Trump accountable after he took office in 2021, and Garland investigated Thomas and Alito for taking bribes, perhaps we wouldn't be in this precarious situation. As were millions of Americans, I was elated after Tuesday night's country-wide bitch-slap to the Republicans. But unfortunately, that just meant they're now digging deeper to cheat their way to a majority, and the fix is still in at the Supreme Court.
Dems must regain control of the House, expand SCOTUS with term limits.
Get up stand up & resist the fraudster authoritarians. Vote Blue!
Reforming the SCOTUS is a really heavy lift; that requires the Senate and the presidency as well as the House.
The first thing I would like to see is impeachment of corrupt SCOTUS judges by the House and removal by the Senate. But we have to reclaim House and Senate both in order to do that.
I hear what you are saying, but with regard to Obama, I think he had to keep a somewhat low profile due to the rampant racial prejudice in our country. I, too, would have liked to see him fight for Garland on the SCOTUS, but we were not in his shoes and therefore can't really second-guess him. IMO.
Obama fought tooth and nail, albeit with dignity, to wine the most high-profile job in the world. And while he was, he did a great job of addressing racial prejudice. We now need a Chicago street fighter, not a laid-back Hawaiian. If he'd gotten in the ring sooner, who knows what might have been different.
I'm all for a Chicago street fighter, much as I love Obama. That's just one reason I hate what the Texas map gerrymander has done, because if it is allowed to stand, we would lose Jasmine Crockett's seat, and she is a really good fighter. I could easily see her being the next Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, I don't think Jasmine is ready for the presidency.
We haven't lost Crockett's seat yet. The new map puts an obstacle in her path, but in a wave year she may be able to overcome it.
One can hope that you are correct. From what I have seen she is very well liked, and she has proven herself to be worthy of her office. She has way more of a chance to keep her seat than Veronica Escobar, who is probably not known beyond the people she represents.
Equally unfortunately, I don’t believe the country is ready for her. Kamala Harris stands as an example of “well. I know Trump is terrible, but oh my God, a woman of color president no no no no no” via that middle undecided third of the voters.
That thought did cross my mind, but at least so far a lot of people really love her.
Democrats, independents and republicans who see the errors of their ways need to start assembling RIGHT NOW the best and the brightest team of strategists and lawyers, money people and organizers to beat the asshole and vought and their brown shirts who have already put together a ground game for rigging the midterms. We need to be outsmart and surprise them at every turn. We need to get on it now, get ahead of them, convince courts that the creeps are wrong, and not let up until Election Day 2026.
You're so right. On inauguration day they hit the ground running with their game plan, their ground game, already in place. I fear the Dems have not done this. Mayor Mamdani should give them tutorials.
For years Democrats have made the mistake of assuming that court rulings, federal laws, and national messages crafted by consultants would keep them in power. That was a massive fail: since the turn of the 21st century, that formula has seen a steady erosion of Democratic power and influence. Once-purple states have turned deep red as Democrats have abandoned local organization in favor of national narratives. Through it all, reactionary judges have waged war on voting rights and the Republican propaganda machine has churned out toxins.
The way to win is what it always was: to organize on a granular, local level. To meet the people where they live. To run candidates who respond to local concerns and issues. To register people to vote, and then to invest the time and effort it takes to get them to the polls.
The preening consultants at their Washington cocktail parties forgot all that long ago. They prefer to remain safe and warm inside their cozy power bubble chock-a-block with dark money, while state organizations languish and die away.
Time for Democrats to roll up their shirtsleeves and get to work. Let Carville enjoy his cocktail parties and his elegant donor-funded lifestyle, while the real movers and shakers get out there in the states and begin to rebuild what Carville and his cronies have dismantled: strong, effective, focused local political organizations ("machines," if you will).
Time to recognize that people don't vote Democratic in Alabama or Montana or Iowa for the same reason they vote Democratic in Connecticut or Manhattan. Time to recognize that "all politics is local," and get out there to do the groundwork that wins elections.
It’s a great view Norm gives us of how he and his colleagues are working on systemic electoral counter-attacks. Every day there's so much new to be outraged about: whack-a-mole in 3D. “He” can't find money for SNAP but he can find money for wasteful investigations (foreign meatpackers?) and frivolous lawsuits. For a tacky ballroom-to-come and an even tackier bathroom completed. For golf trips to Florida every weekend. For hosting international despots. He ignores European allies and murders our hemispheric neighbors. And he's now calling himself the hero of affordability and slayer of inflation? He boasts, he lies. He drags us to the verge of civil war. But he doesn't lead, doesn’tgovern, and Mr. Art-of-the-Deal doesn't negotiate with Congress to solve national problems. Letitia James was right: he’s a fraud. As irate Americans used to scream, “Sue the b*stard!” Thanks for doing just this for us, Norm.
I've always said that in the land of thieves, the honest person is a damned fool!
Another relevant saying:
You don't send Little Lord Fauntleroy out to do battle against Bluto. It takes a street fighter to go toe to toe with another street fighter
It's great that Illinois and Maryland are considering gerrymandering Repugnican'ts out of the House, but the problem is that their delegations are already so blue that there aren't many seats to be gained. What we need is for states like New York, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania-- states that have a fair number of seats held by the GQP-- to follow suit!
I agree completely.
Political gerrymandering in Blue states hurts Conservatives in those states by denying them the right to choose their specific representatives. But, failure to do so hurts Democrats nationwide by affecting potential control of the House. North Carolina already stole control of the House for the Republicans last election.
It's only cheating if one side plays by a different set of rules than the other and political gerrymandering is currently legal. We shouldn't even be wringing our hands over this. Gerrymandering is an issue to be addressed by the next House, but only if Democrats regain control.
Don't forget New Jersey, my home state. They should be able to squeeze another two or three seats for the Dems.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit CongressionalRepublicans.
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I think that if we play our cards right, many can be convinced by the election outcome to come forward.
Those are cowards for not coming forward. The way to beat a bully is by joining forces.
If Donald Trump can run for POTUS a third time perhaps President Barack Obama will run against him.
It was really gratifying to see American Voters step up in an off-year election and tell the rethugs what we think of them. Now comes the hard part. We need to pepper our Congress Critters to find the funds for a yearlong advertising campaign to help the rest of the Voters see that we are the ones who have their back. If you can afford it give to your local and state races. Don't waste your money on PACs or the DNC. Maybe the DSCC and the DCCC will be safe. Keep your Reps' and Senators feet to the fire to stand up for the people being harmed the most by the rethugs. And, if the opportunity arises, protest!
I think the only way to pierce the R's protective media bubble is with billboards. They can't tune out what they see while stuck in traffic.
Mike Johnson & December 2nd’s connection to Gov shutdown & refusal to swear in Rep:
https://substack.com/@ellenmitchell2/note/c-174571542?utm_source=notes-share-action
was the last person in that TN seat a democrat? If not, having a republican win the seat would not change the vote on the discharge petition. (Would still be better to have a democrat win it, for all the other reasons...)
Thanks for the reminder, Kathleen. I am making a donation to Tennessee Dem candidate Aftyn Behn right now.
I wonder how South Carolina's Tim Scott (R) squares his personal beliefs and background with the overtly racist moves of his fellow Republicans in their gerrymandering charge to disenfranchise blacks and minorities. Is he really a died-in-the-wool MAGA kind of guy?
He's an Uncle Tom. I know that's considered offensive by some but sorry, that's what he is.
I suspect he doesn't care.
How does he explain his voting to his family?
The SCOTUS decision in Callais v. LA scares me. The newly gerrymandered map of Texas gets rid of votes for those of us who live in El Paso, which is about 85% Hispanic. We will definitely lose representation if that map is allowed to stand, and it gets rid of two of Texas' best house reps: Veronica Escobar (who represents El Paso) and Jasmine Crockett (Dallas area). Losing our representation will be very hard on our city. I really hope other blue states do step up and make sure that the democrats have a chance to win elections. California's solution was a good one - let the voters decide, and go back to their non-partisan map drawing with the new census.
Lose Jasmine Crockett? "Say it ain't so, Joe!"
I wish I could say it ain't so. Unfortunately it is true. My rep, Veronica Escobar is equally good, but tends to stay more in the background.
Go, EL Paso Strong!
I love that you know our city's motto starting in 2019. A lot of places still have El Paso Strong signs up.
I have the T-shirt! :) My brother lived in El Paso.
Norman Eisen's article above states what we know, and of course, we never know what this current Court will do. But the one issue that seems to be missing in his article is addressing what Republican States are already doing to prepare for a vote in their favor, is what Democratic states are doing. Are there any states like California, preparing to redistrict to offset the Republicans? I have previously read that many Democratic governors do not believe they should follow California because it sets a bad precedent. That, to me, displays a lack of solidarity in the effort to reinstate, or save our democracy!
Regardless, the point is, what are the Democrats doing now to counter the hard work of the Republican States that may not have announced their game plan yet? Why are we not reading that for every Republican State that gerrymanders will be met with a Democratic State? Is there a consensus of any kind on this issue, and if so, wouldn't it be wise to advertise that, especially in the States mentioned in the article? Of course, after last Tuesday, Republicans may just decide that, regardless of rigging the election, it would be best to just declare a security crisis and delay the midterm election completely!
Dems: Stop bringing a knife to a gun fight. At the same time, the various subsets of the party need to think hard about the various audiences we are trying to persuade and what arguments would appeal to the broadest number, not just what appeals to each individual group. We have to get Dems elected first or we're dead in the water second.
“And we must be ready to vigorously litigate bad maps in the court of law and the court of public opinion.”
How can one “litigate bad maps in the court of law“ when the Supreme Court has okayed partisan gerrymandering and probably will OK elimination of minority opportunity districts?