Republicans Are Planning to Carve Up Texas Like a Christmas Ham. We Should All Be Pissed.
At Trump’s command, the Texas GOP’s redistricting maps strip voting power away from Black Texans and are an insult to us all — regardless of partisan stripes.
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By Billy Begala
We should all be pissed.
At President Trump’s behest, the Texas GOP released new proposed congressional maps Wednesday, and on the surface, they’re exactly what Republicans seemed to be hoping for: an aggressive gerrymander that, if passed, would more than likely deliver five additional seats to Republicans in Congress.
To oversimplify a complicated process, Republicans’ proposed maps would accomplish this by stripping nearly a quarter million Black voters out of Congressional District 9 in Houston and packing them into two neighboring districts. Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio liberals would be stuffed into as few districts as possible, while Fort Worth would be split into bits small enough to be offset by large swaths of rural Republicans. The so-called “Fajita Strip” districts of South Texas would get a makeover, too, cutting the still-progressive city of McAllen in half and leaving South Texas Democrats without a favorable seat.
But any Republicans gleefully spiking the football should be careful what they wish for.
Success for the GOP depends on a few important variables. Namely, the U.S. Supreme Court’s willingness to abide by the disenfranchisement of Black voters, and Republicans’ ability to hold onto gains with Latino voters.
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If you let Texas radicals do anything, and don't match their gerrymandering seat for seat, they win YOUR state in this dead serious gamble. It's time for the Union to stand together against Texas radicals! Don't just say "Chicago will save us, New York and California will save us." Only ALL patriots, working together, will save Old Glory. Your ancestors DIED for the Union it stands for. You can call your representatives and demand anti-Texas gerrymandering, if that's what it takes.
My city of Corpus Christi (Nueces Co.) is also to be split. TX is already gerrymandered as is--we should have independent redistricting after the ten year census and not at a president's request.