Texas Democrats set to flee state again

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
Why should the minority party accept gerrymandering along party registrations, whether they're Democrats or not?

Texas seems to be the only state where they run like whipped dogs though.

[Boris Godunov]

Excuse me, but the Dems did NOT try to force redistricting in a year in which it was not supposed to be brought up? This would be akin to trying to force a new census in 2004.

[Japher]

I'm just surprised that the Texans haven't yet tried to redraw their boarders to increase the size of their state

[SlowwHand]

Hell no. More perimeter to guard.
I don't mind the Mexicans so much, we always need roofers; it's the Okies I can't handle.

[Odin]

Go Dems. I hate gerrymandering, republican scumbags.

just admit it, the republicans are anti-democratic.

[mrmitchell]

I don't support the Democrats if they did it--I don't know the specifics on that matter so I can't tell you anything more than gerrymandering is bad.

But we do know now that the Republicans are doing it, and it's wrong. Remember, guys: [cheap phrase]Two rights don't make a wrong [/cheap phrase]

[Imran Siddiqui]

Excuse me, but the Dems did NOT try to force redistricting in a year in which it was not supposed to be brought up?

Of course they have. Under Texas law when all redistricting is not completed in the year after the census (as in this case), it goes to the courts and then is resubmitted in the next legislative session.

This HAS happened in the past... usually without incident, but one year the Republicans walked out of a redistricting plan in mid decade by the Democrats (during the 1960s). Now the Republicans were too small to prevent a vote, so the legislative body was not paralyzed, but don't fool yourself that the Democrats have not done this before.

Both parties are willing to change sides on a issue if they find themselves in that position.

[CorpusScorpius]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
I don't support the Democrats if they did it--I don't know the specifics on that matter so I can't tell you anything more than gerrymandering is bad.

[cheap phrase]Two rights don't make a wrong [/cheap phrase]

You are wrong 2 rights make a U -turn

[Dinner]

Both parties try to cheat with districts. They try to keep their supports all in one group and then cut the other guys supports into several different districts.

I wish we could have a none political emperical way of designating districts such as they must be as close ot a square shape as possible and they must be as densely populated as possible. If we could take the redistricting decisions away from the interested parties then we might just get a better democracy.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You are wrong 2 rights make a U -turn

Hehe... that's true. Plenty of non-partisan publications (Center for Voting and Democracy and the Almanac of American Politics) consider the Texas Democrats work in the 90s to be the most effective partisan gerrymandering in the country.

[The diplomat]

Those Dems are such cowards.

[CorpusScorpius]

Originally posted by Oerdin


I wish we could have a none political emperical way of designating districts such as they must be as close ot a square shape as possible and they must be as densely populated as possible. If we could take the redistricting decisions away from the interested parties then we might just get a better democracy.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0529/p09s01-coop.html

[SlowwHand]

Definitely an embarrassement to Ann Richards.
Ann rocks.

[Odin]

Originally posted by The diplomat
Those Dems are such cowards.

Speak for yourself, creationist. Why is preventing gerrymandering cowardly? Oh, that is right you are anti-democratic like all republicans.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And remember fellahs, redrawing court made lines by the legislature ain't illegal in anyway. In 1984, for example, the California Legislature was forced to redraw the congressional map after a statewide referendum overturned the existing lines.