My Solution to Redistricting in Texas: Breakup the State

[LynneSin]

I found this while perusing http://www.snopes.com/ and guess what: IT's TRUE!!!

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/texas.asp

Claim: A clause in the document annexing Texas to the United States allowed for Texas to be divided into five different states.

Status: True.

Origins: After several years of contentious debate, in
1845 the United States' various political factions finally reached enough of a consensus to agree that the benefits of annexing Texas (nominally an independent republic ever since it had been wrested from Mexico after the decisive 1836 battle at San Jacinto, although neither Texas nor Mexico ever accepted the treaties signed a few weeks later) outweighed the pitfalls. As T.R. Fehrenbach noted in his history of Texas, the nascent republic was ill-suited to maintain itself as a sovereign nation, and the presence of such a tenuous political entity in the midst of North America posed a threat to the ambitions and interests of the United States:

[RobertSeattle]

1. Careful what you ask for

Could mean 6 more Republican Senators!

Heck, while we are at it, let's combine North and South Dakota, split California in two, combine Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington, and Western Oregon and West Washington, combine some of those dinky Eastern states...

:)

[LynneSin]

2. Better not be talking about my dinky state of Delaware

We like being dinky and tax free!

[thermodynamic]

3. Why do you like being tax free?

Perhaps I'll explain my reasoning...

[ButterflyBlood]

4. Those are all bad ideas

The Dakotas currently have 4 Dem senators, which will be cut to two. Those "dinky Eastern states" are heavily Dem with loads of Dem senators. Washington and Oregon currently have 3 Dem senators and 1 Repuke, combing the east and west sides will mean 2 Dem senators and 2 Repuke.