GOP using redistricting to shore up House majority

Source: Associated Press

Republicans romped last November, gaining 63 House seats to secure the majority, winning 11 governorships, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, and seizing control of the most state legislative seats they've held since 1928. The GOP is capitalizing on its across-the-board control in 26 states — governorship plus legislature — in the census-based drawing of a new political map that will be a decisive factor in the 2012 elections and beyond...Nearly half of the states have finished redrawing House lines based on population changes, although lawsuits and Justice Department reviews loom.

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"Redistricting starts with Republicans at a peak," said Tim Storey, an elections analyst with the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. "They hold a solid majority of seats in the House. It's hard to gain much more."

In the last election, Republicans took control of the governorships and legislatures in Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. That grip on power is reflected in the latest congressional lines... Republican optimism aside, Democrats are making the most of their opportunities. They've drawn favorable district lines in Illinois. And they're hoping several political realities will help the party pick up the 25 net seats needed to recapture the House. Next year is a presidential election year, with the promise of higher turnout and an electorate with a greater number of Democratic-leaning younger voters and Hispanics. President Barack Obama will head the party ticket against a still to-be-determined Republican, who could either win over independents or send them running toward the Democrats.

In Illinois, Democrats ensured that the new political map makes life extremely tough for half of the state's 11 House Republicans. The Democrats focused on competitive districts close to Democratic strongholds, carving up huge swaths of GOP territory and creating some difficult matchups for GOP incumbents. Freshman Republican Robert Dold is suddenly in a race against seven-term Democrat Jan Schakowky. Freshman Republican Adam Kinzinger's hometown of Manteno is now in nine-term Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr.'s district. Two Republican freshmen, Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren, are now in the same district.
Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, calls Illinois the party's "center of gravity" in the campaign to take back the House... In California, Democrats have the potential to gain 3 or 4 seats based on the map drawn by the 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent panel that paid more attention to geography and ethnicity than incumbency. Longtime Republicans Gary Miller and Ed Royce face uncertain futures as does David Dreier.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-using-redistricting-shore-house-majority-174955135.html

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I want this to be the first and last Teabagger-controlled House. One thing I hope we can all agree on: having Speaker Pelosi back in charge would be a vast improvement over what we have now.

It's time to step up and be counted if there is any potential Democratic seat that could be won next year in your state or a neighboring one.

Please consider volunteering at your local Democratic HQ to help make that happen or join Obama For America, where some of us are already organizing GOTV activities. Let's all do our best to take back the House.

Not only will our efforts likely be unsuccessful, most of the new Democrats we'd elect would be DINOs anyway. Why not slowly build up a solidly liberal/progressive majority?

That's why.

We can't wait around and let these fuckers do even more damage.

What makes you say that? We got rid of a lot of DINOs last time... even as the minority party.

And as for unlikely efforts.... have you noticed, the Teabaggers are not so popular now, as they once were? Not even with their corporate masters since they actually thought defaulting on the debt was OK.

controls all the committees in the house. The majority party then decides what bills are brought to the floor for a vote. Which would you rather have, a "DINO" who votes the democratic position 65% of the time, or a Teabagger who votes the Democratic position 0% of the time? We need to do as much as we can now, not wait from some possible better outcome 10, or 15, or 20 years down the road, that might not ever come. edited for wrong pronoun choice

:eyes:

it, and now are crying foul because it didn't work out the way they wanted. Talk about a bunch of babies...stomping and carrin' on just like two year olds.

I'm here on the East Coast and we're fighting a pitched battle on behalf of Pennsylvania Democrats from where I am (NY) but even I would be happy if I saw the last of David Dreier (I still recall the Tom DeLay days when he seemed to be the slick lyin' face of the GOP on cable shows).

gain one seat for sure, maybe two. Have to wait until next year. We're not in jeopardy of losing any for sure. Good news for the State Senate is that we are, now, one vote short of having a two thirds majority. Hopefully, we can get that vote in Nov '12. We already control the Legislature by a wide margin. Gee, I love Blue California. I wish you guys luck with Pa.