Virginia is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. During the last presidential election, President Obama won the state by three points, but Republicans still picked up 8 of the state’s 11 congressional districts under the GOP-friendly maps drawn by the state legislature.
In a court filing offered by the Republican members of Virginia’s congressional delegation, the lawmakers who benefit most from these gerrymandered maps admitted that the GOP intentionally rigged the state’s congressional districts in order to produce a lopsided delegation. The state legislature’s “overarching priorities” in drawing the maps, according to the court filing, was “incumbency protection and preservation of cores to maintain the 8-3 partisan division established in the 2010 election.”
2010 was a very good year for Republicans, enabling the GOP to capture unusually large portions of state congressional delegations. 2012, by contrast, was a strong year for Democrats which saw the reelection of President Obama. And yet, by these Republican lawmakers’ own admission, the maps drawn between the 2010 and 2012 elections were draw for the explicit purpose of ensuring that the GOP’s unusually strong performance in 2010 would be replicated year after year — even in years when the electorate was more favorable to Democrats. The GOP’s goal, in other words, was to render congressional elections little more than political theater, an annual ritual that would produce the same 8-3 delegation every single time.
And that my friends is why even though the country is moving to the Left, that Republicans are able to stay in office and impede any real progress.
And of course to do away with gerrymandering would take an act of Congress. And WHO is the politic la party in control of Congress?
That's right, so even though bills do get introduced in order to make the playing field level, the army winning most of the battles has no intention of giving the other side a chance at victory.
In North Carolina it takes 3 Democratic votes for every Repub to win. This is shameful in a so-called Democracy. And
ReplyDeletethere are 6 other states where it takes 2-3 Dem votes to 1 Repub. Why isn't the media telling people about this!?!
Can you imagine the mess our country would be in today had the Republicans been elected? God forbid.
DeleteThey are pro war and anti women. They absolutely ZERO in the U.S. Congress and are sorry excuses as elected officials. They do not represent the majority of Americans and are ruled by money! Pure and simple!
We can beat them in the next election cycle by getting the voters out. Write letters to the editor of your newspaper - talk about what the Republicans are doing to your particular area and state that bring nothing but harm and damage to your particular population.
We CAN vote them out!! Look how President Obama was elected TWICE in spite of their obstruction.
Make sure folks get VOTER ID in the states that require it. Loan them the money to obtain it if you have to! We need to take care of each other and every way possible.
We have the same problem in Michigan. Obama won here by 9 points and as Reps we got 9 Republicans and 5 Democrats---from a blue state. But here's the scary thing they're trying to do here and in other red-controlled blue states--apportion electoral collage votes by congressional district which makes the popular even more meaningless than it is already.
ReplyDeleteGood ol' Virginia... that explains why Bob Goodlatte has been able to keep his job all these years!
ReplyDeleteWell. The supposed new majority leader McCarthy goes on Hannity and admits (the obvious) that the Benhgazi hearings have been about ruining Gillary Clinton's poll numbers. What's up Regressives? What's with all this truth coming out, finally?
ReplyDeleteAs long as Democrats can't be bothered to show up at the polls of every election, no matter how insignificant, things will not improve.
ReplyDeleteYou have that right. Democrats are notorious for not voting, and Repubs will vote in a snow storm! They stick together like nobody's business. You are right.
DeleteI don't understand how they were able to redraw them in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWow! Will be sharing this graphic. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why it doesn't matter how much we say 'Vote Republicans out in the next election '. The gerrymandering assures that they will retain their seats. That's also why they don't see any need to compromise. Democracy is over, friends.
ReplyDelete