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Obama’s Next Project: Stop GOP From Gerrymandering
Western Journalism ^ | February 25, 2017 | by Michael McGrady

Posted on 02/27/2017 11:13:48 AM PST by Mozilla

Former President Barack Obama and other top Democrats are focused on winning majorities in state legislatures by fighting the reconfiguration of voting districts — known as gerrymandering — in an effort to win nationwide in 2020.

Fox News reported Obama is working with national committees like the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee to conduct his new venture since leaving office.

“Where he [Obama] will be most politically engaged will be at the state legislative level, with an eye on redistricting after 2020,” said former White House political director David Simas, speaking on Obama’s plans late last year.

Gerrymandering refers to the reconfiguring of voting districts. Voting districts are redrawn after a federal Census to reflect changes in population and other demographics.

Because gerrymandering is controlled by the majority party, state legislative districts that were once thought to be “safe-Democrat” will be at risk of yielding to Republican control.

Prior to leaving office in October 2016, former Attorney General Eric Holder unveiled a plan to start an advocacy group focused on eliminating gerrymandering to retain current Congressional districts held strongly by Democrat representatives. Obama endorsed Holder’s group.

The NDRC went full steam ahead with funding from top Democrat donors, many of whom were pitched by the committee during the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee serves as a coordinating organization with the NDRC.

“A coordinated effort among Democrats to prevent another round of GOP gerrymandering is Republicans’ worst nightmare for the long-term health of their party,” says Carolyn Fiddler, communications director of the DLCC.

The concerted efforts of top Democrats is a direct response to the election of President Donald Trump last November.

Much of the work done by these groups attempts to resist “Trump-ism” and any pro-GOP political efforts, in terms of state legislative races and gerrymandering.

Over 32 state legislatures are controlled by Republicans, with 17 of those with veto-proof majorities. Twelve other states have Democratic-controlled legislatures while six have split legislatures.

Given the plan Obama and Holder’s groups will execute, the committees will focus on winning Democrat majorities in split legislatures in states like Colorado, Alaska, New York, and Maine, among others.

The DLCC is a 527 political committee with major donors including Wal-Mart and the National Education Association. NDRC is also a 527 political committee, also known as a Super PAC.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
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To: Mozilla
...focused on winning majorities in state legislatures...

Uh, for 6 to 8 years they lost over 1000 seats and NOW they are just realizing it?

21 posted on 02/27/2017 11:38:39 AM PST by KC_Conspirator
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To: Mozilla

Their template will be the FL amendment that cost us several solid red seats and cost us some good conservatives. Duplicate that 30 times and they would cut into our advantage. Of course California will somehow go untouched.


22 posted on 02/27/2017 11:41:33 AM PST by ilgipper
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To: Mozilla

Boy, those proggie pinko Rats sure don’t like us doing the same things they’ve been doing for years, now do they now?

Somebody PLEASE! Call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIikqPmbgvI


23 posted on 02/27/2017 11:46:37 AM PST by polymuser (There's a yuuuge basket of deportables.)
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To: Mozilla

P R O J E C T I O N !

Fake News (again)


24 posted on 02/27/2017 11:47:50 AM PST by tomkat
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To: Mozilla

It was DEMOCRATS OWN GERRYMANDERING that caused them to lose the House and Senate in 1994 and again in 2010.

When they were in power in the states’ redistricting processes they ‘created’ so-called ‘black districts’ that were safely within their control. By doing this, they had to rob adjacent districts of democrat voters, thus weakening their control over those districts’ voters and so they lost the district in the next election after the redistricting.

What this did was to make the elected Dems in Congress be way more liberal and left-wing than the average voter back in their states. They weeded out the centrists and the right wing entirely of their party so now we have a Dem party full of far left ideologues.

Then when the Republicans got control of the redistricting process, they let the ‘black districts’ remain, so now neither the Dems or the Pubbies will get rid of them...............


25 posted on 02/27/2017 11:48:00 AM PST by Red Badger (If "Majority Rule" was so important in South Africa, why isn't it that way here?.......)
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To: Mozilla

Obama is engaging in treason.


26 posted on 02/27/2017 11:55:21 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (President Trump is coming, and the rule of law is coming with him.)
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To: rlmorel

You are right. The libs love gerrymandering for political purposes. They moved Republican districts and turn them Democratic. I think Republicans doing it is political payback.


27 posted on 02/27/2017 12:01:51 PM PST by Mozilla (Truth Is Stranger than Fiction.)
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To: butlerweave

Wouldn’t be surprised if Obama becomes head of a progressive organization.


28 posted on 02/27/2017 12:04:35 PM PST by Mozilla (Truth Is Stranger than Fiction.)
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To: Mozilla

IN WHAT SHOULD BE A RELATED SUBJECT: Conservatives do some, profoundly, serious brainstorming on how to, finally, make Conservatism victorious within all cities as well as among all minority groups, throughout the U.S. as well as throughout the entire world!


29 posted on 02/27/2017 12:07:01 PM PST by johnthebaptistmoore (The world continues to be stuck in a "all leftist, all of the time" funk. BUNK THE FUNK!)
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To: BRL

Can’t wait to see how many congressional districts are lost in the deep blue states when a lot of the illegals are sent packing. Since the illegals are in and around the cities, the seats will likely come out of the democrat hide even with gerrymandering. If Trump can get rid of enough of the illegals and the Republicans hold control of what they have now, the democrats may not have a path to 270 for a long time.


30 posted on 02/27/2017 12:07:33 PM PST by Revolutionary ("Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!")
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To: lurk

All districts MUST be a rectangle. Gerrymander solved.


31 posted on 02/27/2017 12:10:06 PM PST by TheNext ("PULL THEIR BROADCAST LICENSE!" - Trump Rally Cry. eg ABC)
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To: Mozilla

Ah, yes. The next “Too much money in politics” scam. Remember when Republicans had a distinct money raising advantage? Coincidentally, Democrats got on their moral high horse and demanded that we take all the filthy money out of politics, in favor of public funding.

The corrupt MSM could not write enough editorials and articles decrying filthy money in politics. Then McCain-Feingold sought to disarm Republicans, and again coincidentally, McCain-Feingold just happen to give Democrats a leg up on political fundraising. Not surprisingly, almost no Democrat ever took that good, clean public campaign funding option.

Then Obama raised nearly $1 billion in 2008, much of it from illegal overseas contributions and laundered as Visa/MasterCard donations. Everyone knew what was happening, yet no one, not the RINOs, nor those moral guardians of righteousness in the MSM said one word. Nor did the corrupt MSM find time to do investigative reporting on the matter on Obama’s illegal fundraising.

Fast-forward and the game Democrats who actually invented gerrymandering have now been edged out by Republicans. And of course we will now hear how morally outraged they are and demand that we need to “somehow” fix gerrymandering. Watch the corrupt newspapers now climb on board creating a sense of immediacy and outrage and demand action.

This is happening right now in my state (Wisconsin). Democrats are quite certain that gerrymandering is the root of all their problems, despite Trump winning the state in 2016. Despite Walker winning the state multiple times. And despite Sen. Ron Johnson winning the state. So all these statewide Republican wins proves that Democrats have been rooked by gerrymandering.


32 posted on 02/27/2017 12:10:16 PM PST by Obadiah (Democrats continue their crusade against normal.)
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To: Mozilla

Didn’t you hear? It is not gerrymandering when the dems do it.

/sarc


33 posted on 02/27/2017 12:17:53 PM PST by taxcontrol
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To: nikos1121

[how pray tell are you going to change the gerrymandering if you have no power]

They are planning to GET OUT THE VOTE for 2018, which means conservatives CANNOT rest on their laurels during the midterm election.


34 posted on 02/27/2017 12:23:11 PM PST by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Yeah, Arizona voted for a ‘bi-partisan’ commission to re district in 2010. 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats and 1 ‘Independent’. Turns out the Independent that Jan Brewer picked for the commission was really a Democrat. The 3 Dems met in secret, behind closed doors. They came up with their own redistricting plan and voted it in without any input froom the 2 Republicans. So, in a state with an R Governor, 2 R Senators, an R Attorney General and an R Sec of State, 5 of the 9 Congressional seats went to Democrats in 2010. Jan Brewer sued to overturn the new map and a Lib judge threw the case out. In 2012, we were able to get the Conressional representation back to 5 Republicans and 4 Dems, but the plan put in place still has power. DO NOT GO WITH BI-PARTISAN COMMISSIONS. If you want to do away with Gerrymandering, let a computer draw up the districts with as even a population in each as possible. But there is that little thing called ‘districting to assure that minorities are represented’. There’s always a fly in the ointment, isn’t there?


35 posted on 02/27/2017 12:26:05 PM PST by originalbuckeye ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell)
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To: Mozilla

Translation:
“Dems insist on retaining their fraudulent advantage”


36 posted on 02/27/2017 12:28:46 PM PST by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: Mozilla

He should stop Illinois from gerrymandering.


37 posted on 02/27/2017 12:31:11 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: Mozilla

Of course the Dems do it to. Here in CA, Dana Rohrabacher was my congressman from 1989 to 2015 when I moved from Huntington Beach to South OC. He has represented the 42nd, 45th, 46th and 48th congressional district. He’s always had HB as his core, but the Dems keep changing the districts.


38 posted on 02/27/2017 12:37:24 PM PST by socal_parrot (Do you like Pina Coladas?)
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To: Mozilla

Obama may lend his name to this effort but that will be about it. Local politics is a lot of work and that is not his thing. Even during his Pestilency he considered working with all those House members to be small ball. Cuts into golf and what ever else he does behind closed doors.


39 posted on 02/27/2017 12:43:55 PM PST by dogcaller
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To: Stingray51
Gerrymandering is implied to be an ugly word. But absent a square-shaped state with a completely homogeneous population spread evenly so the state can be divided into neat little squares, drawing the lines for legislative districts is necessarily a political process.

One of the dirty little secrets about "gerrymandering" is that it's generally used to maintain "safe" minority seats in the House of Representatives pursuant to Department of Justice mandates. If they didn't gerrymander at all, there would be considerably fewer House seats held by minorities. Yet, strangely enough, the first people to complain about gerrymandered districts are liberals who are politically allied with minorities who, in reality, are the primary beneficiaries of it.
40 posted on 02/27/2017 12:49:24 PM PST by Milton Miteybad (I am Jim Thompson. {Really.})
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