Boston Democrats are doing it in this state, and it looks like we will lose a seat out here.
"GOP’s redistricting options limited; Protecting gains is likely focus" June 12, 2011|By Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times
WASHINGTON — On paper, the sweeping gains Republicans enjoyed last year in state houses across the country gave the party a profound advantage in the nascent and increasingly contentious power struggle to create new congressional districts.
As if it matters which faction of the War Party is in charge.
But those gains are likely to add up to fewer than 10 seats in the House of Representatives, largely because Republicans took so many seats from Democrats in 2010 that there are not many left to change hands through redistricting.
As a result, Republican leaders are focusing on making sure that incumbents, especially their 87 freshmen, end up defending districts with even more Republican voters than they had in the last election, with the hope of ensuring that they maintain control of the House for the long term.
Karl Rove's dream come true four years later.
“The overwhelming success of Republicans in 2010 actually poses a problem for them,’’ said Michael McDonald, a senior fellow and redistricting analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington....
So has the lack of real change.
Compounding the Republicans’ problem, much of the nation’s population gains have been among Hispanics, who have tended to vote Democratic, or in areas where voters tend to be less friendly to Republicans....
For instance, Texas Republicans are trying to make the best of their four new seats — gained almost exclusively through growth in the state’s Hispanic population — by making sure that two Democratic-leaning districts that Republicans won in the last election, in south and west Texas, are stuffed with more Republicans. They can do this in part by moving Hispanic neighborhoods out of those districts and consolidating them in one Democratic stronghold.
At the same time, in the Dallas area, Republicans are also seeking to scatter Hispanics into districts dominated by Republicans, to diffuse the influence of Hispanic voters there and protect Republican freshmen....
Isn't that GERRYMANDERING?
Btw, readers, the term originated in Massachusetts.
A wild card in the process is the Voting Rights Act and how President Obama’s Justice Department enforces it. The law prohibits discrimination against members of a racial or minority language group. Part of the law affects only states that have a history of such problems. Those states must get approval from the US attorney general or Federal District Court in Washington for any change that affects voting.
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