This is monstrous, a clear and present danger to democracy, how can it happen?

[Fred Sanders]

2014 Frankenmap of Austin, Texas Congressional Districts....WTF?

Where is Austin!? Oh, there it is......city limits are inside the boundaries of District 35, the whole freaking city is there in the middle.

Because of this monster, and the monsters in political power in Texas that created it, liberal as liberal can be Austin, Texas has sent 5 fascist Republicans to Congress, and 1 Democrat.

One district, 10, goes 150 miles to near Houson, another, 25, 140 miles in the opposite direction, to near Dallas. And District 17 is shaped like it is fucking the city of Austin with a tentacle, as it stretches northward towards Dallas and a happy ending of another Republican in Congress.

Austin is getting fucked over and the Republicans are so sure Austinites, or any one else, can do fuck all about it they literally drew a map showing how they are being fucked over.

District 35 is the city of Austin, it gets one Democratic Party Representative...while the hayseeds near Houston and Texas get to choose 80% of the cities national elected members for the House of........Representatives?

(Scale: you are looking at a grid of about 250 x 250 miles - yes, MILES)



Congressional elections should be halted until citizens of its cities are not purposely cheated of the political representation that reflects their values, values the same citizens fought and died for for other countries around the world.

And do not give me the paramount power of a state legislature crap, I have eyes, I know what a monster looks like when it is shoved in my face.

WTF, America? WTF?

WTF, Austin, are you too high on life to recognize when it is being stolen from underneath you? Why are the good folks in Austin not on the streets with pitchforks looking for the thieves that are stealing their democracy in such an obvious way?

Where is the fucking free press, they agreed to be the guardians of democracy, did they not?

Is it true, then, that it is too late, we are all being fucked and there is literally fuck all we can do about it?

This is a crime, a break enter and theft of democracy, and the thieves have left their DNA all over the forcible point of entry, we know who they are. And we know where they are, so how about a little vigilante justice, since the fucking courts have been corrupted as well? A well armed militia armed with votes is protected by the constitution as well.

The last stand is the voting booth, the last chance is going for the unlikely voter and not pretending to be a Republican so a few more hayseeds might vote for you, the pool of unlikely voters is way bigger than the pool of potential hayseeds. Allison Grimes does not get that and if she loses that will be why.

Fucking vote or be fucked over, maps don't lie.

[hobbit709]

1. Short answer: Tom DeLay and the R's in the TX Legislature.

They tried to redistrict Lloyd Doggett 3 times out of his district and he beat them every time.

[malaise]

4. All those scumbags should be in prison starting with Delay

Democracy my ass

[daleanime]

2. K&R....

[Lars39]

5. Gerrymandering

[Fred Sanders]

6. Gerrymandering? I do not use that word, few know what it means*, sounds like a mechanical repair.

"Hey, Bubba, you do gerrymandering around with the Chevy yet?"


Call it theft.

*edit: add - "outside of DU and liberal circles and of course, the gerrymanders themselves"

[Lars39]

7. Your chance to educate then, depending on audience.

[cali]

17. oh more condescending codswallop from you. You don't know DU. You haven't been here

long though you behave as if this was your little fiefdom. I guarantee that 99% of the posters here damn well know at least as much about gerrymandering as YOU. And sorry, but the people you're addressing are overwhelmingly the DUers you love to condescend to, fred.

[Fred Sanders]

22. Sorry to tread on your turf, did not see the signs, I thought it was a community. Whatever.

[Crunchy Frog]

50. Condescending codswallop.

Totally agree with you on that.

[Hissyspit]

25. I was taught what gerrymandering was in junior high.

[Jackpine Radical]

44. Here's the original Gerrymander--

[Throd]

38. "Few know what it means"? Get over yourself.

Like the previous poster, we were introduced to the term in the 7th or 8th grade as I recall.

[Fred Sanders]

40. Please, I did not imply those at DU do not know, obviously almost everyone knows about the term here

I do not know why you or others seem to get that from my post.

There are, I would think, many more people who view this site than members registered.

[Fumesucker]

8. Where the boundary lines are drawn on districts can greatly vary the outcome of voting

The process of drawing the outlines according to accomplishing a particular political agenda is known as "gerrymandering".

ger·ry·man·der
ˈjerēˌmandər/
verb
gerund or present participle: gerrymandering

manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
"a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want"

Looking at the boundary lines of the districts it's kind of clear that something odd is going on, the larger districts have fairly distinct shapes, the smaller (in area) more urban ones with high population density are either broken up to dilute their power or concentrated in order to make sure they only get as few legislative seats as possible.

Think of it as "gaming the refs" in sports terms.

[Fred Sanders]

12. More like shooting the refs. And leaving their carcasses on the sidelines for intimidation.

[Mister Ed]

9. A practice called Gerrymandering.

Republicans in the Texas state legislature got to draw the boundaries of the congressional districts, and they drew them in such a way that the liberal, Democratic-leaning voters of Austin are divided up and placed into these large, sprawling, misshapen conservative districts.

With the Democratic vote divided and diluted in that way, nearly all of the Representatives elected to congress from that area will be Republican. This is how the GOP gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 1990's, and how it holds control today despite the fact that, nation-wide, far more votes are cast for Democratic representatives than for Republicans.

[spanone]

10. gerrymandering should be a federal crime

[onenote]

32. Some history

Gerrymandering to reduce the voice of a minority group is a crime. But the difficulty is that partisan, as distinguished from racial, gerrymandering is not. And it has a very long history. The term goes back to 1812 when the district depicted in the attached map was created.

Clearly the system we have now is breaking down, but there always will be a degree of subjectivity in drawing Congressional district boundaries.

[librechik]

11. great rant--gerrymandering should make everybody angry

the press? Their bosses are all Republicans. They want to keep their jobs, too! Republicans have forgotten more about dirty tricks than Dems will ever learn. They have to. We outnumber them. And they're not smart enough to think of anything original.

Yes, we are fucked completely and their isn't anything we can do about it until 2020. But they'll make sure we don't have the power to do it then. Just like in 2010.

[Fred Sanders]

13. Folks complain about the crime rate, yet ignore the grand theft of their democracy...how?

[Dustlawyer]

19. Oh we file suit, but the Republican Justices say the maps are ok.

[LeftInTX]

42. Dustlawyer is right

The redistricting lawsuit went on for quite awhile.
Then, the USSC said "Too bad"

[Triana]

14. Uh-huh. Looks just like what they did to Durham, NC.

Put me in a different CD. I was SO PISSED.

[Fred Sanders]

15. Yes, rinse and repeat all over America, win control of the House with far fewer votes. A nation

wide crime, a party of gangsters in control.

[Triana]

16. In NC, as a result of gerrymandering, it takes 3.5 Dem votes to = 1 Repub vote. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

21. That is equal representation, as guaranteed by the constitution...some corrupt system you built by

not voting beyond 50%.

I always have a hard time understanding the national election voting turnout rates.

Ferguson is just an extreme example of what happens when that happens.

Ferguson should not be just protesting against the homicide of Michael Brown, they should be primarily protesting the criminal homicide of their democracy. To me, the focus on an indictment is the wrong primary focus, and I know that because the corporate mass media is trying to make it ALL about the indictment, then they will make it all about the trial, or a riot or whatever, anything but the blatant theft of democracy, the suppression of voting being only a part of that whole criminal enterprise.

[mwooldri]

46. I wouldn't call it proportional.

If I had my way in NC I'd eliminate 6 distrcts and replace them with two super-districts. The winners (3 per district) are decided by party list. This way, a third party who can poll 33.4% of the vote can get a representative elected... or (more likely) two Democrats and one Republican gets elected .... or the other way around depending on which party has a majority.

It would be a way to reduce gerrymandered districts and also give people a choice of which Congressional Representative they want to work with, as four people represent their district - the single district rep and three super-district reps.

[YarnAddict]

18. Sometimes gerrymandering facilitates representation

of people whose voices would otherwise go unheard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois's_4th_congressional_district

The 4th Congressional District of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Luis Gutiérrez since January 1993.
It was featured by The Economist as one of the most strangely drawn and gerrymandered congressional districts in the country[3] and has been nicknamed "earmuffs" due to its shape.[4] It was created to contain two majority Hispanic parts of Chicago.

[former9thward]

34. People like to rant about gerrymandering

but they ignore that it is required by the Voting Rights Act. The VRA requires majority - minority districts such as the one you mention. Every major city has these districts which compact Democrats into districts that elect minority representatives. Gerrymandering can't be eliminated with violating the VRA.

[YarnAddict]

35. Even if it could be eliminated

it wouldn't be a good thing.

\

[Eleanors38]

20. You should see the toll roads. They're like moats.

[Martin Eden]

23. Is the the kind of Democracy that "conservatives" want to export at the point of a gun?

Our own democracy is terribly corrupt & dysfunctional, yet some fools think we can invade other countries with cultures we do not understand and successfully transform their societies into peaceful, functional, pro-American democracies?

[mountain grammy]

24. Great segment on "The Daily Show" last night about this..

It's a crime, but, like Dustlawyer said, lawsuits don't matter much with Republican judges who have their jobs thanks to "elected" Republicans.

Here in Colorado, my red county ended up with Boulder county. Our districts were drawn by Democrats after Republicans tried their dirty tricks, and our districts are pretty balanced. The Rethugs in my county howl like stuck pigs, but the districts are fair and we get a Congressman with brains.

[Fred Sanders]

27. Yes, inspired me to write this post, I know most at DU understand the concept and the history, it

made Stewart mad enough to mention it again, so I thought I would also.

No harm in repeating a truth, repeating lies seems to work for Republicans.

The root of the problem seems to be corrupt judges, the corruption is baked in.

And forget about the media, so what is left to do? Just wait until the next census and re-gerrymandering?

An independent districting panel composed of folks who know statistics and demography can do it, as in California and else where. Computerized districting programs exist, once again it is science, statistical science, that can provide the solution. It is such a no brainer good idea. If only enough folks were either convinced or got angry enough, I suppose. Pipe dreams, I suppose.

[mountain grammy]

28. The problem is, when Dems are in power they try to govern

when Republicans are in power, they spend their time scheming and cheating and finding ways to remain in power and get even more.

[YarnAddict]

36. So, what would you do

about the Illinois 4th District? Should there be no representation for the Hispanic people there?

[Takket]

37. what would be better for hispanics in illinois?

1 Hispanic demo and 4 repubs

OR

4 dems and 1 repub

Gerrymandering has brought you the house of reps we have today where dem candidates have more votes but repubs have more seats. It has proven to be the most obstructionist House in the nation's history. Unemployment blocked, jobs bills blocked.... I guarantee you the people of Illinois 4th are not prospering under this system.

[Fred Sanders]

43. Excellent point. Supporting any form of gerrymandering gives it undeserved credibility.

It is a huge net loss for Democratics.

[ReRe]

26. Excellent rant, Fred

K&R

[liberal N proud]

29. Texas - best gerrymandering in the country

[GTurck]

30. John Carter...

of District 31 is so sure of his re-election that he basically has not campaigned. There are many Democrats in Williamson and Bell Counties who would gladly see him gone and replaced by Louis Minor who at least has a feel for ordinary people.

So sure is Carter that he sent this committed Democrat a You Tube video of him qualifying for an open carry permit. His townhalls always require a $25 dollar fee. And he is backed by the Koch Brothers. No room for democracy here.

[zeemike]

31. The shape of that district looks like a boot standing in a pool of blood.

As it trickles down the map.

Irony is sometimes amazing even if it is true.

[world wide wally]

33. So, as we spread "democracy" around the world, like we have done in Iraq and many other neocons and

Teabaggers think we should be doing more of, are we explaining the art of gerrymandering? I am sure it was all laid out for us in our own Constitution, but can anybody explain to me exactly how it was phrased?
I just know that those "Constitutionalists" would fight it tooth and nail if it wasn't explicitly laid out as a basic right. Just like they fight health care because it wasn't specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Surely gerrymandering would be a bigger threat to freedom than health care.
Can anyone explain this?

[Zorra]

39. If republicans did not own the media, and did not lie, cheat, steal, etc in order

to get elected, the republican party would have become extinct years ago.

The 1% uses any corrupt means necessary to employ the republican party as the gatekeepers of inequality.

I live in a shamefully gerrymandered republican district as .

Thanks for the post, Fred.

[Enthusiast]

41. "This is a crime." Yes it is.

This is contrary to the intentions of the framers that much is certain.

[DeSwiss]

45. ''Fucking vote or be fucked over, maps don't lie.''

Maps are lies.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

47. Crazy, just crazy

District 21 looks pretty wild, too. And so many tiny districts compared to 10, 17, 21 and 25.

K&R

[BlueCollar]

48. "Fucking vote or be fucked over, maps don't lie."

I've voted in every election since I moved here in 1991.

Until you understand the level of absolute corruption in Texas Politics, you will never understand the phrase, "Your vote is irrelevant"

My vote is irrelevant, but I cast it anyway.

I testified against the redistricting...for what that was worth.

[Fred Sanders]

49. Maps of States with gerrymandering look like images of skin cancer, you can SEE the disease with your

own two eyes, but still nothing can be done? It must make you very angry to actually know your vote is irrelevant before you even cast it, kind of takes all of the fun out of politics. And what about folks IN Austin, why have they thrown up their hands and become so placidly able to cast irrelevant ballots without much protest?

I know the courts are all fucked up in Texas, but this deserves harassment of them by civil suits day in and day out until everyone sees the disease.

If the creepers and freepers and sovereignists can tie up courts with their insanity then why not also amuse them with harassing lawsuits pointing out the absurdity and cancer represented by these maps?

The judges might enjoy the break from their usual drudgery. It is always going to come back to judges upholding both the intent and the spirit of democracy, like the judge in Maine upheld science over reason, the whole sale abandonment of civil liberties that too many folks will do so readily if they can be delivered from evil, real or imagined,

Maybe when I retire.

[Bluenorthwest]

51. Here is Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, in 1954 talking in part about the very special sort of

Republican that controls Texas politics to this day:
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
That's 60 years ago, yet it still applies....