Congressional Gerrymandering

Tremendous Turnover Of Membership Coming In Future 120th Congress (2027-2029)

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It is already evident that at least one out of every eight members of Congress will not be returning in 2027, as either they are retiring; have lost renomination; or are running for another office other than the one they now hold.

Eleven US Senators and 59 House members are definitely leaving, with 7 Republicans and 4 Democrats leaving the Senate, and 38 Republicans and 21 Democrats leaving the House of Representatives.

So a total of 45 Republicans and 25 Democrats are leaving Congress.

This does not include those members of Congress who have died or resigned during this two year term.

The aging of Congress is a factor, but also those who desire to move on to another political goal, or are facing the reality of primaries and also the reapportionment of seats by gerrymandering that will eliminate others who had planned to run for reelection.

So the future 120th Congress (2027-2029) will have record turnover, and it is certain, there will be more “new” members of both houses of Congress, than just the present number of 70 members leaving.

Reapportionment Battles Create Massive Struggle For Control Of House Of Representatives In The Future 120th Congress (2027-2029)!

Ronald 13 Comments

The reapportionment battle in Virginia yesterday resulted in a gerrymandering that will, in theory, provide four more likely Democratic held seats in the US House of Representatives for the future 120th Congress (2027-2029).

This is the latest development in the battle for the lower chamber of Congress, begun by President Donald Trump urging Texas to reapportion, and then further pursued in reaction by Democrats to do the same in California, and then other states also participating in gerrymandering in the midpoint of the decade, instead of the usual such action after the census that takes place across the nation in the decennial reapportionment.

Ironically, the action of Texas may partially backfire and help Democrats gain one or two seats, and of course, there is no certainty as to how elections based on this present gerrymandering activity will play itself out in reality.

On paper, it is pretty much a “wash”, at this point however, with the theoretical results being so far:

Texas 5 Republican gains
California 5 Democratic gains
Virginia 4 Democratic gains
Ohio 2 Republican gains
North Carolina 1 Republican gain
Missouri 1 Republican gain
Utah 1 Democratic gain
Florida (special session next week, potential 1-5 Republican gain

Before Florida, theoretically, Democrats may have gained a one seat edge, but if Florida succeeds in its gerrymandering, Republicans could gain a few seats edge.

Also, still in limbo, but possibly taking gerrymandering action before the elections in November, are New York, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Of course, this is not even taking into consideration that public opinion of Republicans is in rapid decline.

Also, there will be massive turnover, with many retirements, and some resignations to avoid expulsion.

The economic situation and anti Iran War views of vast majorities of Americans is making for a very favorable climate for Democrats, who already have won a vast majority of off year and special elections since the results of the Presidential Election of 2024, now nearly a year and a half ago.

Democrats Have Won 30 Special Elections In States Since Trump Was Elected, While Republicans Have Not Flipped Even One!

Ronald 2 Comments

Democrats had now flipped 30 seats in state legislatures and other government positions in special elections since Donald Trump’s election.

This does not only include winning the Virginia Governorship, but also state legislative gains in that state and in New Jersey, and also a multitude of lesser known, but significant rejection of Republican candidates across the board, most recently in the backyard of Donald Trump, the Palm Beach County district in both the state House and state Senate, where Trump resides at his Mar A Lago estate in Palm Beach.

But also the same turnaround occurred in Tampa, Florida, and upset wins in other states, including most recently, Arkansas and New Hampshire, along with Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Iowa. The swing in support to Democrats is overwhelming, stunning Republicans nationwide.

It seems clear that the “Blue Wave” is on its way for the midterm elections in November, which is why Donald Trump is trying to limit the right to vote, and why he promoted gerrymandering in Texas and other Republican states, but with Democrats taking action in California and Virginia in particular, to try to resist the strategy.

The Evils Of Gerrymandering: Texas Plans To Create Congressional Districts That Could Insure Republican House Majority Despite Fewer Voters Supporting The Party!

Ronald 6 Comments

Gerrymandering has been a curse since it was first created in the early 1800s by Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry, who was also Vice President under James Madison for less than two years before his death in 1814.

Both political parties, and earlier named parties, used the political tactic to promote redistricting to favor their party fortunes, but now Texas is seemingly ready to redistrict in the middle of a decade, rather than when new census figures come out at the beginning of a new decade.

Their purpose is to make the Republican Party keep control of the House of Representatives by creating more Republican House districts, from three to five more, which likely would insure Republican continued control of Congress, at a time when the margin is just a few votes.

Those few votes make all the difference in passage of legislation and of President Donald Trump’s agenda, so clearly, the Democratic Party is trying to resist it, and may, at the end, utilize the same tactic in California, and possibly in other “Blue States”, such as New York and Illinois, and possibly even elsewhere.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Is Appealing To Right Wing Authoritarians!

Ronald 5 Comments

It has become clear that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is perceived as the likely alternative to Donald Trump, among other Republicans who might seek to run for President in 2024.

What is clear is that Ron DeSantis is smarter, more intelligent than Donald Trump, which makes DeSantis very dangerous.

DeSantis is appealing to right wing authoritarians, based on his utterances and actions in office.

He has promoted the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida, persecuting gays, lesbians, and transgenders in the public schools, and dictating what can be said by educators in classrooms regarding sexuality and students.

Along with other Republicans, he is aiming to avoid the subject of race in the teaching of history, distorting the truth of the American past. He has attacked CRT (Critical Race Theory), which is not taught in schools, but he also does not want the unfortunate reality of racism and discrimination in the American past to be taught at all in schools and universities.

DeSantis is promoting book banning, affecting libraries and schools, and encouraging parents and school boards to promote censorship, interfering with students right to read books that should continue to be available.

He has promoted the anti abortion movement, and weakened gun safety laws, making the state much more dangerous to its citizens.

Anyone who is critical of him is attacked, including Walt Disney World, and Democratic prosecutors elected to office, who he dismisses from their positions on political grounds.

DeSantis has suppressed the vote, aiming to make it more difficult for the basic right of citizens to vote.

He has promoted gerrymandering that took away two House of Representatives seats from African Americans.

DeSantis resisted the COVID 19 Pandemic, working against vaccination requirements, face mask mandates, and stay at home orders, and this has led to Florida having the third most deaths, but not far behind California and Texas, although they have much larger populations.

He sent 50 Venezuelan refugee migrants who had applied for political asylum legally to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, as part of his political strategy to challenge the Biden Administration, but showing no concern about the cost to the state of Florida, and the lack of concern or respect for people escaping a left wing authoritarian dictatorship in Venezuela.

DeSantis is very hostile and antagonistic toward the news media, and bans them from many press conferences, only allowing right wing news media, including Fox News Channel to be present.

He is seen as appealing to right wing authoritarian promoters, and therefore, is seen as a threat to American democracy and the rule of law, were he to be nominated for and elected to the Presidency!

Republican And Conservative Advantage In House, Senate, Electoral College System, Despite Popular Vote Advantage For Democrats

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The American political system is in bad straits, in what seems like a losing battle for popular vote to determine who runs our government.

The system has become stacked to favor Republicans and conservatives.

Republican legislatures in many states promote gerrymandering, which hurts Democrats massively, not only in the state governments, but also in setting up House of Representatives seats. An example is Florida, which used to have four Congressional seats that favored African American representation, but now has been halved to two such districts.

Fewer people regularly vote nationally for Republicans, but they have near to a majority even before the election in 2022 for the House of Representatives, and it is likely they will control the lower house of Congress despite having fewer total popular votes nationally.

Also, the US Senate has a situation in which Republican Senators, presently half the Senate, are elected by a population of about about 142 million Americans, while Democrats, presently the other half of the Senate, are elected by a population of about 184 million Americans!

So 60 percent of the nation’s population is being underrepresented, while 40 percent is overrepresented.

The idea that Wyoming has two US Senators with only about 600,000 people, while California with nearly 40 million peoples has two US Senators, is an abomination, but simply has evolved that way over time, so the US Senate is anti democracy to the extreme!

Additionally, the Electoral College favors the small, mostly Republican states, this despite the Democrats winning the national popular vote seven of the last eight Presidential elections, from 1992 through 2020, with the one exception of 2004!

So the idea of democracy is under attack, and the right wing Federalist Society has managed to “fix” the Supreme Court, with a strong 6-3 margin, with only Chief Justice John Roberts able to be considered, most of the time, as “moderate”.

So a constitutional crisis exists, with white supremacists working to insure that American democracy fails completely as we reach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026!