Texas Gerrymandering

Political Polarization At Worst Point In Modern American History!

Political polarization is at its worst point in modern American history under the Presidency of Donald Trump.

Not only is the House of Representatives with its tightest balance in recent times, with only a few seats edge for Republicans, the precise reason for the Texas mid decade Gerrymandering promoted by Donald Trump.

It is also the reality that in the state governments across the nation, there are a total of 41 states with single party control, meaning the Governorship, and majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

26 states are under Republican control, and 15 states under Democratic control, what is termed as “trifectas”.

The only states that are not in one or the other trifecta are:

New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Arizona
Nevada
Alaska

The following states have Democratic Governors and Republican majority legislatures:

Pennsylvania
North Carolina
Kentucky
Wisconsin
Kansas
Arizona

The following states have Republican Governors and Democratic majority legislatures:

Nevada
Vermont
Virginia

Trump Systematically Destroying All Reforms From Progressive Era Onward!

Donald Trump is systematically destroying all reforms from the Progressive Era onward, with particular attention to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has been a willing participant in this reversal of all of the great changes that promoted equality and justice, which became about after nearly a century since the Civil War of continued violation of basic human rights to African Americans and other minorities, including women and gay and lesbian Americans.

This is a very emotional time, as Donald Trump is moving full stream ahead, to return America to the late 19th century Gilded Age, where multi millionaires dominated the economy without any government regulation, and where racial discrimination and lack of basic human rights to anyone other than white male Christians predominated.

Trump and his supporters in the most despicable and corrupt Cabinet in American history are actively destroying

the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era reforms that he initiated, through his Square Deal and New Nationalism proposals and actions.

the reforms of Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom legislation.

undermining the social justice reforms of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt ;

and the Fair Deal of Harry Truman;

and the civil rights advancements of Dwight D. Eisenhower;

and the ideals of the New Frontier of John F. Kennedy;

and the overwhelming reforms in so many areas of public life of the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson;

and the many initiatives of Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H W Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden toward major reform initiatives.

Trump has declared war on common decency and humanity, and has ushered in an American Fascism, reminiscent of Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Juan Peron, and other right wing dictators.

The danger that there will not be free and fair elections, and the attempt to promote midstream Texas gerrymandering to weaken an opposition Democratic Party challenge to the authoritarianism taking place, is totally horrifying and depressing!

The Voting Rights Act 60th Anniversary: Now Under Attack By Texas Republicans And Donald Trump

Sixty years ago tomorrow (August 6, 1965), President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the momentous, monumental Voting Rights Act into law, ending a history of voting discrimination, denying African Americans and other racial minorities and poor people the right to vote.

This only came about after decades of violence and intimidation, particularly in the American South, and it was glorious that it was a Southerner, a Texan, Lyndon B. Johnson, who brought about this massive reform, with the support of a strong Democratic controlled Congress, but with many Republicans also joining in to support the legislation.

It is extremely sad that we are now witnessing a racist and authoritarian President, Donald Trump, attempting to promote what is clearly an attempt at a coup d’etat, advocating the diluting of voting rights of these various groups through extreme gerrymandering, which could lead to five seats gained by the Republican Party in Texas.

The battle to retain the hard fought voting rights gained, is one that must be pursued without compromise!

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

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.

Texas Has Become The Pariah On So Many Issues!

The state of Texas has become a pariah on so many issues.

Its decision to ban all abortions after six weeks, and allow citizens to sue and win a bounty of $10,000 against anyone who helps a woman gain an abortion is outrageous!

Its decision to create the most stringent limitations on voting rights, designed to prevent people of color, the young, the disabled, and urban centers from access to voting with reasonable rules is also outrageous!

Its plans to gerrymander the state in such a way as to make fair elections impossible in the future is also outrageous!

Its refusal to allow masking to be required to protect children and staff in public schools is also outrageous!

Its allowance for open carry of firearms is a danger to everyone, and mass killings will increase, and is also outrageous.

The state has right wing elements that have spoken about secession and treason, and is very willing to do everything possible to promote white supremacy in a state that is more than ever a state in which people of color, particularly Hispanic and Latino, but also Asian American and African American, are being treated in a discriminatory manner!

Texas was one of the most horrific racist states before the Civil Rights Movement, and now it is reverting to extremism that is shocking and detrimental to the people of the second largest populated state, and the courts seem unwilling to do anything about it!

Texas should face boycotts, court cases, and other moves to hold the right wing extremist legislature and Governor Greg Abbott to accountability, as this is not a situation that can be overlooked, as the danger is that this cancer might spread to other states!