Wow. If you want a good picture of gerrymandering, go to...

[LAS14]

... the NYT House site and click on Ohio and hover around.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-house-elections.html

[CincyDem]

1. Don't disagree re: Ohio but if you want the real pinnacle of gerrymandering, look at MD and NC :-)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/05/15/americas-most-gerrymandered-congressional-districts/?utm_term=.8bb9b27a84bb

Good article from 2014 summarizing the principles and results of gerrymandering.

I hate it because I'm at the western tip (by about 500 feet) of Wenstrup's district and I know it's because our community (along with several along the district's "route" to my house) is reliably high percent blue. Wenstrup has room in his base to tolerate some blue while Chabot was at risk...so...what the heck, let's just move all those blue votes from OH-1 to OH-2. See. All good.

The are such asshats.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Asshats is too kind. They are criminals and fascists.

[LAS14]

4. Thanks for this post. Interesting. Depressing and energizing at the same time. nt

[GoCubsGo]

6. South Carolina is pretty bad, too.

A huge chunk of the Democratic population in the state has been rounded up into Jim Clyburn's district, where he won with 70% if the vote. Had this state been properly drawn, Districts 2, 5 and 7 could all potentially go Democratic, believe it or not. Unfortunately, the republicans also have a tight grip on the state legislature, likely due to massive gerrymandering there, as well. So, nothing will change here any time soon. It's going to take an awakening like the one Kansas just had for that to happen. I don't see it occurring any time in the near future.

[Amishman]

8. Maryland is probably the worst

I wish we would fix it, it undermines our argument and fuels a lot of 'both sides!' talk. Besides, we'll have to fix it in a few years anyway if we get reform passed.

[vi5]

2. So the question is...

...do we continue to just complain about it? And shrug our shoulders? Or hope that if we ask nicely the courts will reverse all of this and rule it illegal (which Republicans will then proceed to just fucking ignore because that's what they do?)

Or do we fight fire with fire this next time around and gerrymander the fuck out of states that we control?

So much of the damage we are now seeing the impact of was done at the state level. And whether we want to hear it or not, a big part of that is because we neglected a lot of state level jobs and infrastructure, with our quixotic focus on the presidency (not saying it's not important at all.....just that the state level is just as important). So now that we've regained some control we need to play the game the way the game is being played in 2019 and beyond. Not the way it used to be played and not the way the idealists in us WISH that it was played.

[LAS14]

5. We pass state laws that prohibit gerrymandering, as they have in CO and MN.

Support the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, founded by Obama and Holder.

https://democraticredistricting.com/

[vi5]

10. So, stop states that WE control from doing it...

..which will have zero impact on states that Republicans control, and allow them to continue to do this and continue to grow their advantage over us.

That sounds like a plan.

[LAS14]

11. It's a plan to turn the whole country into party bastions? I don't think so. nt

[vi5]

13. So does this plan involve...

..some way to block Republicans from driving up their numbers through gerrymandering in states they control?

Or are we banking on their good will and sense of decency?

[LAS14]

14. It involves continuing the successful campaign to turn state houses...

... blue. Then to write anti-gerrymandering positions into law. It's been underway for some time and is working. Yes, a long way to go, but it's the way to go.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211394427

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211386733 Reminder, a lot of the failures to turn state houses blue in this list are actually races where the state houses went from red to purpole. Longest journey, first step, etc.

[vi5]

15. Ahhh...

...so even better. It banks on the intelligence and reasoning of the red state voter AND the sense of deceny fair play of the Republicans who now run those states and set the elections laws.

You'll have to forgive me if I don't feel at this point like we have another decade or so to wait for this "going high when they go low" thing to work out for us.

If that's what you're banking on then more power to you and your sense of optimism. I'm fresh out of optimism.

[treestar]

7. We pay more attention to state houses

rather than obsessing about who will run for POTUS in 2020.

[vi5]

12. Bingo!

Not saying we ignore 2020, but since 2000 too many people in positions of power and control within our party have been focused far too much on the presidency (I could be even more cynical and specific but I suspect that would get this post deleted) at the expense of things that were just as important.

Let's start focusing on the power we have as much as the power we hope for.

No more dry fucking powder.

[underpants]

9. 4, 7, and 12

Yikes