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Federal court invalidates maps of two NC congressional districts

upsideguy said:
Actually, it probably is... the way gerrymandering works is that you create a few number of super-majority districts that are so overwhelming with one party, that party gets to own those districts... but the MAGIC here is the remaining districts have a solid majority of your party. In other words... if your state is 50-50 (which NC is close).... stick all the dems in a couple districts to create a many 60-40 districts you can in favor of your party....

This ruling should add some dems to other districts (and move some republicans into the districts in question)... it could change the balance of power in a district or two.
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i don't even care about any of that. Just looking at the map you can tell it's a complete charade to the democratic process, practically the entire state. The real issue here is we need to decide whether we want to hold elections or not. Currently we are not, but pretending we are
 
ThaiBoxer said:
It's pretty well known that Republicans cheat to win elections. They try to stop people from being eligible to vote and then they pack Democratic voters in as few districts as possible. How else do you think they were able to win so many districts in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio even though those states all voted for Obama.
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Those states you mention are like 52% dem but half the population is so spread out, it doesn't matter how you draw the districts. Or rather, half the reps would have to come from philly and pittsburgh alone for example. No matter what, until districts are proportionate to population instead of geography, city residents are disenfranchised

It's just that the 2 districts in question in this case are especially treacherous
 
digsbe said:
It's in all their playbooks. Just look at the state of Maryland, I'd say it's one of the most Gerrymandered in the country as drawn by the O'Malley government.
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I was born and grew up in Maryland and know the makeup of most neighborhoods in the state. Why exactly does very liberal Baltimore encompass 3 districts? Maryland's 3rd district has come up a lot due to it's extremely odd shape and the 6th district was redone to include parts of liberal Montgomery County and tying it into the more conservative rural areas on the panhandle. Out of all the districts in Maryland only 1 is held by a Republican (1st district).

I think likely in North Carolina they were able to argue racism, with the motives being strictly political trying to suppress communities that tend to vote Democrat on the basis of their political support and not color. I think Gerrymandering should be made illegal with it done using a neutral block type pattern that is spread over fairly and changing in size due to population density.
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I grew up on Maryland/PA state border and the Maryland 6th district was a republican strong hold. Beverly Byron was a blue dog Democrat during the 1980s and She lost to a massive liberal trying to ride the coat tails of Clinton in 1993/1994.. That guy lost to Roscoe Bartlett who held that seat for 20 years. He was beloved by most in his district.

In 2011, O'Malley's Government shifted the Republican part of Fredrick County and Carrol County district 8 and then added and left the heavily democratic southern Montgomery Co. and Fredrick Co in 6th district. To put in perspective.. in 2008, John McCain carried the old 6th district. in 2012 Obama carried the 6th district. It was a 20 point swing in 4 years.
 
upsideguy said:
When your state produces only 35% of one brand of vote, its almost above your quota to even get one delegate out of the population. Oklahoma is 65-35 the other way, and has NO Democrats elected to national office. Politically, 35% is a real minority.
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No, Western MD and Eastern Shore of Maryland are VERY Republican. They also account for roughly less then 35% of the population of Maryland. Washington Co, Allegheny Co, and Garrett Co are worlds apart from anything east of South Mountain (if you look on a map of Maryland, basically anything east of route 15).
 
Somerville said:
I will agree that Democrats have been guilty of gerrymandering in the past but it has become an important part of the GOP playbook more recently.
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Are you saying that the Republicans are stealing tactics form the Democrat playbook?
 
upsideguy said:
I am making no value judgement here. I recognize its been one of the traditions of American politics and duly exploited by each party. Frankly, I don't know how I feel about it. I do think, however, the courts should be there to call "foul" when it gets out of hand.
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You and I have always been on polar opposite sides of every thread I can remember within that we have both posted. Of all the posts I've read from you, this is the most open and forthright post of them all - no hyper-partisan BS, just honest opinion. This is also, if I remember correctly, the first time I've ever given you a "like" on a post. Although I'm not sure that you would really care what I think, I wanted to tell you well done, and at least on this point, I agree with what you stated above.
 
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