Virginia Republicans admit that they rigged the state to keep their party in power.

Courtesy of Think Progress: 

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.

Texas would like you to know that they are NOT trying to keep minorities from voting, just Democrats.

"Now we're not targeting minorities, we're targeting Democrats. If minorities get hit by shrapnel that just part of war."

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

The state of Texas has a pretty amusing response to Attorney General Eric Holder's claims that the state's redistricting plans discriminate against minority voters. 

"DOJ’s accusations of racial discrimination are baseless. In 2011, both houses of the Texas Legislature were controlled by large Republican majorities, and their redistricting decisions were designed to increase the Republican Party’s electoral prospects at the expense of the Democrats. It is perfectly constitutional for a Republican-controlled legislature to make partisan districting decisions, even if there are incidental effects on minority voters who support Democratic candidates." 

Holder has asked the court to force Texas to get permission from the Justice Department before it makes any changes to its election laws. Texas has intentionally redrawn its Congressional districts to dilute the Hispanic vote, according to the Justice Department. 

Yeah the Texas Republicans are not trying to keep minorities from electing who they want to office, just the Democrats.

And if that means that the Hispanics and African American people feel marginalized, well that's just gravy.

Gee don't we all feel much better now?

Barney Frank will not seek reelection!

Courtesy of CNN: Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, a prominent 16-term liberal Democrat and arch-enemy of political conservatives nationwide, will announce Monday he does not intend to seek re-election in 2012, according to a statement from Frank's office. 

Frank, 71, will hold a news conference in his district to discuss the decision at 1 p.m.

Frank was a favorite of progressives in this country as he always told it like it was, and was impossible for conservatives to intimidate.

He has been a great asset to the Congress, and to liberal causes, and he will absolutely be missed.

I have also read that due to redistricting Frank's district has become somewhat more conservative as of late, which seems to have contributed to his decision, so I have to imagine that the Republicans are licking their chops in anticipation of picking up this seat.

A close adviser told the Globe today that the new district in which Frank would have had to run next year was a major factor in his decision. While it retained his Newton stronghold, it was revised to encompass more conservative towns while losing New Bedford, a blue-collar city where the Democrat had invested a lot of time and become a leading figure in the region’s fisheries debate.

I certainy hope the Dems have somebody solid to put up for this seat in 2012. I would hate to see another Scott Brown worm his way into yet another important political position in Massachusetts.