How Republicans Plan To Rig The Next Presidential Election, In Six Pictures

[kpete]

How Republicans Plan To Rig The Next Presidential Election, In Six Pictures
By Ian Millhiser posted from ThinkProgress Justice on Jan 24, 2013 at 9:00 am


Yesterday, Virginia Republicans took the first step to move a GOP plan to rig the Electoral College forward in that state. Similar plans are under consideration in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The Republican election rigging plan targets blue states that President Obama won in 2008 and 2012, and changes the way they allocate electoral votes to give many of these votes away for free to the Republican candidate for president. Under the Republican Plan, most electoral votes will be allocated to the winner of individual Congressional districts, rather than to the winner of the state as a whole. Because the Republican Plan would be implemented in states that are heavily gerrymandered to favor Republicans, the resulting maps would all but guarantee that the Republican would win a majority of each state’s electoral votes, even if the Democratic candidate wins the state as a whole.

Today, the Center for American Progress Action Fund released a white paper detailing how this Republican election-rigging plan works — including this rather striking visual demonstration of just how effectively Republicans gerrymandered six states that are likely targets of their plan:



http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/24/1488491/how-the-republicans-plan-to-rig-the-next-presidential-race-in-six-pictures/

[AzDar]

1. Lie, cheat, and steal....the Republican mantra.

[Rockyj]

65. Question: So what are we going to do about it?

All I see here is people agreeing that what the GOP is doing to our democracy sucks. Why aren't we as organized as them? This was a long thought out process so why wasn't anything done to stop it? We can come to these boards and acknowledge we are being screwed and whine or we can start organizing to do something about it & make a plan of what we can do in the states we live in.

I have a long commute to work (162 RT miles) daily and I am so pissed that I now have to listen to internet radio on my Android because @ the beginning of the new year Seattle's Progressive Radio station 1090 no longer exists! This happened in Portland, OR too. It happened so fast that just one little petition was created which has only about 900 signatures! I never thought this would happen in Washington State and always felt fortunate that I live in a Blue state, but its really not that Blue.

I live in Bellingham, which is a pretty liberal city but just outside the city (Lynden & Ferndale) you will see a big anti-abortion sign & Don't Tread on Me signs. Its scary! A while back I attended an anti-Glenn Beck protest in Mount Vernon, WA because the Mayor gave Beck the key to the city! It was even scarier as the town was crawling with Tea Partiers!

I really want to know what we can do about this.
Can we start organizing here by state?
Any suggestions?

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

80. This is the question I've been asking. We can sign a petition. That's what we've got so far?

[blue_heron]

97. expose the gerrymandering in the media

I was stunned when looking at the tiny spots of blue. If you look at huffington post election results, which seem to be posted by COUNTY, there is a lot more blue. I don't know if this means that Obama won districts where there is a sitting republican district or if they added the votes in each district and it still came up red? Compare Wisconsin. Same is true for Virginia. I'd really like someone who knows and works with the numbers to explain what the republicans have done with the districts to everyone.

http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/results/wisconsin

[blue_heron]

98. was romney believing these gerrymandered maps?

is this why he was so convinced he was winning, when he looked at all that red he just believed without understanding all the blue under the red? the huffington map is nice because is actually includes the number of votes in each county. but it doesn't include the number of registered voters in each county (what percent came out to vote).

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. Ultimately The Only Way You Will Stop Them Is With Literally "Smash Mouth" Politics

The GOP is like the guy who comes up to you and begins to poke you in the chest with their finger. Even after you have exhausted all remedies to get them to stop they continue and taunt even more. The GOP commits violence, intimidation and other means in an indirect way like the Mafia.

They do outrageous things and actually hurt people physically by what they do, but they never suffer any consequences like bullies. And you get to a point that the only way to deal with a bully is to "deck" the bully like the abused character Biff did.

Of course, no one of ever wants to take extreme measures. And the reason the GOP always gets away with their mayhem is that no one ever terrorizes these terrorists.

We are losing our country and our democracy because of GOP tactics. And we can see their intent and determined resolve. They are going to continue to rape the political process until someone stops them an literally terrifies them in some way. Rigging the electoral college is a direct threat to the country and our democracy. It is really treason and should be treated as such.

What is troubling is that they are bragging about their accomplishments behind closed doors.

[silvershadow]

37. Yep. And they will never go away, as much as some may hope or dream. I used to think they were

gonna be "history" after the next election. And then, the one after that. Now, with the E-voting, doubtful ever. Besides, even if at that, the more important story is that there are whole swaths of red states, and the blue states are whole swaths of red, with pockets of blue (presumably the cities and burbs people are fleeing to from the red states). I can only hope we Democrats can find some damn good, progressive, in your face mouthpieces to rebut their nonsense and to run as candidates.

[coalition_unwilling]

75. Lexicographical note: I believe the technical phrase for the

phenomenon you describe is 'stochastic terrorism' (use of mass communication to inspire audience to commit acts of violence without explicitly advocating felonious activities)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/01/10/934890/-Stochastic-Terrorism-160-Triggering-the-shooters

[TheMastersNemesis]

77. It Certainly Is A Tactic They Have Been Using Or So It Seems But ----

I would be reluctant to use it. I know I have vented some pretty extreme things on this forum more out of frustration than anything.

The GOP seems to be willing to chip away on every issue with little price to pay. They could be stopped if the MSM were not totally on their side. Confronting them on the spot and embarrassing them on camera and ridiculing them would go a long way in curbing their madness.

The fact that they can find a forum every time that lets them just speak their drivel is what makes it possible for them to move on what they say. The fact that no one comes out and challenges them.

Take Wisconsin or Virginia where you will be arrested for violating free speech. If you could get thousands out and force their hand and make them try to arrest several thousand people they could not do it.

Then again I would like to see their reaction if one could call for their demise in a stochastic way like they do all the time with anyone who does not agree with them. Even if someone talks back to them they go berserk and then the supposed offending party backs down. Force them to move on you and then double down on your own rhetoric.

The problem is that we just stand by silently rather than laugh at them or mock them or taunt them verbally. At least be willing to cuss them in their face or call them an asshole publicly or something.

[coalition_unwilling]

78. Little personal story: I used to stand by myself with a big banner that

said "I Blame Bush" on Venice Boulevard for a couple hours a day during the last period of prolonged unemployment (from 2004-06). At one point, some local Yahoo came by and threatened to shoot me if he saw me standing there again.

Now, had I been single and unattached, I would have doubled (or even tripled) down on my stance. I told the guy "I'm willing to die for my beliefs or I wouldn't be standing here" and he rode off in a huff.

But, when I told my wife what had happened, she insisted that I change locations immediately, which I did. After I was physically assaulted at the new location by a different Yahoo, my wife refused to allow me to vigil by myself any longer. From that point on, I had to do it with at least one other person (which I did from 2006-09). (This is actually advice I give to everyone now: do not vigil by yourself but have at least one other person who has your back.)

Ah, the travails of relationships

But I'm with you!

[Botany]

3. Not only did Obama win by a comfortable margin despite all the scams to ....

.... suppress the vote in Ohio but Sen. Brown (D) won re-election by
6 points. The republicans know they are the minority and that the
demographics are against them so they are working every angle they
can to keep power. Kasich and company are ruthless.

[rhett o rick]

4. What are the remedies and who is working on this? The Democratic Party?

Or must we rely on moveon.org?

[emulatorloo]

7. Comes down to State Legislators and State Governors. If Repubs control legislature and gov,

that is all they need to do it.

Yes Democrats are working on it, see Rachel's show last night. But unless Dems have the votes in those legislatures, it will happen.



Tell me exactly what MoveOn has ever done, other than run ineffective ads.

[rhett o rick]

15. Which Democrats are working on this? Is there a think tank or organization with

correcting this as their goal? We cant leave it up to the states as those run by republicans will be lost.

In my opinion organizations like moveon.org, PDA and Progressive Change Campaign Committee have done far more than the Democratic Party (since Howard Dean was fired) to elect progressives to offices. It would be interesting to know the facts but I bet most of Elizabeth Warrens campaign money came from outside the party.

I have been involved in a number of protests, like move your money, and none have been at the behest of the Party.

millions of moveon members went door to door and supported GOTV. It's a shame that so many look down their noses.

[Chathamization]

46. I just got an e-mail from DFA

who are working on the VA legislators. But the backbone of this needs to be people in the states, whether they're part of the party apparatus or progressive political groups.

[davidpdx]

73. Dean was fired?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3593944#3594124

[rhett o rick]

76. Same difference. He was a bad fit for the DLC. What do you think happened?

He want to spend more time with his family?

[davidpdx]

88. He pledged to run one term and did

It seems to me that you are inferring something that is not true.

[rhett o rick]

89. I am inferring that he didnt fit with Pres Obama. If that's not true, please share the truth with

me.

[davidpdx]

96. I linked to the thread with the article in my first post

[maddiemom]

19. Maybe just eliminating the electoral vote system?

On other blogs I see this suggested by more and more people. I have long agreed. After 2000, I would have thought the Democrats would have made it a priority. I'm sure that if the results had gone the other way, the Republicans would have been raising bloody hell. I remember reading that they were gearing up to do so, anticipating Gore might have come out as Bush did.

[rhett o rick]

31. I believe elimination of the electorial college would require a Constitutional

Amendment which is what we should do. However, it would be impossible to pass such an amendment at this time.

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html

[BlueCheese]

50. There's a back way around it...

If a group of states comprising at least 270 electoral votes agree to cast all their electoral votes for the national popular vote winner (which requires nothing but state-level legislation), it effectively achieves a popular vote.

[octoberlib]

30. I haven't heard one peep from the DNC on this.

They should be extremely concerned.

[rhett o rick]

32. I agree they should have a committee or something working on

all aspects of fair and free elections. I am not sure it falls under their charter.

[mick063]

5. A huge engineering project for the GOP

An analogy.

Building a weak earthen dam to contain a large reservoir. The flow of the populist river is very difficult to contain and even if contained, the engineered structure requires constant funding, inspection, and maintenance. Considering the recent inept performances of all things GOP, I expect the dam to eventually, dramatically fail as the reservoir of populist ideology rises.

Because the failure will be so dramatic as opposed to the trickling effect that would have normally occurred, the perception of GOP collapse will be much more catastrophic.

The GOP can use such tactics in times of apathy. Apathy goes away when quality of life diminishes. Apathy is mitigated when people begin to question the structure of their society.

The GOP is buying time, but natural forces are against them and their attempts to circumvent inevitable demography will give political historians an intriguing story to tell. When the populist dam breaks, it will certainly take on historic proportions.

[KittyWampus]

10. What a great analogy and post. Thanks for contributing. Your post deserves its own thread!

[rhett o rick]

33. An intellegent elite will recognize the danger of the dam breaking

and stop the level rising just short of the breaking point. Apathy, misinformation, and misdirection (legalization of mj and same-sex marriage) help to reinforce the dam.

More worrisome for the elite are cracks in the dam that might wipe it out. I think Occupy was such a crack and that's why they were dealt with so severely.

Having said that, sometimes the greedy cant help themselves and want just a little more and a little more and dont pay attention where the water level is.

According to Elite Theory the elite run all organizations and all governments. Some elite are more greedy than others and some can be sympathetic to the masses. We need to find those sympathetic elites.

[texshelters]

6. If you can't beat 'em

cheat 'em.

PTxS

[KittyWampus]

8. This is absolutely NOT RIGGING> It's political hardball. And the Republicans excel at it.

Sadly, the Left sucks at it since the Kennedy's were shot dead.

There is no law breaking here. It's reptiles knowing the rules and using them to their full advantage.

[Sherman A1]

9. Yup,

They are gaming the system, but it's still within the rules.

[KittyWampus]

11. I've posted about redistricting over the years, it's the least sexy topic & drops like a stone.

But it's actually one of the most important political topics/tools. And it ultimately needs very localized action.

This is where all those registered Democrats who may not be terribly liberal according to DU's standard become essential.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

81. As this current catastrophe proves.

[think]

54. So we need a large number of Dems to move to redistricted areas?

[totodeinhere]

87. We just need Democrats to vote in midterm elections in the same number that they vote in

presidential elections. The GOP can try to do this because they won control of several state legislatures in the 2010 midterms. We need to reverse that and since many state legislators are elected in midterm elections that makes those elections crucial.

[bookman]

99. You're right.

Midterms are the key.

[NBachers]

12. It's like any disease or infestation- it grows and gets worse if steps aren't taken to eliminate it

Republicans are toxic, poisonous, and life-threatening.

[cecilfirefox]

13. I couldn't count exactly for sure all those red blocks, but my calculations should that had that

been allowed in the last election O and R would have come out 269-269.

If you can't win, cheat. The conservative way.

[Indyfan53]

14. This is why we should have voted in 2010.

Everyone needs to vote in EVERY election. If someone says they don't want them to vote or voting doesn't matter, you need to light a fire under them. We need to use the same strategy and effort used in 2006, 2008, and 2012. We especially need to encourage the youth to vote. They tend not to care for midterm elections, but we can change that and we need to!

[AndyTiedye]

34. We DID Vote in 2010. It Was the Swing Voters Who Stayed Home or Voted for Teabaggers

We got outspent by 4 to 1 because of "Citizens United" and the Tee Vee was saying the economy was Obama's fault
even as the Rapeuglicans blocked efforts to improve it. Swing voters are easily influenced by such things, that is
why they are swing voters.

[Indyfan53]

68. Lots of democrats stayed home, too.

This is why we need to vote and encourage the undecided ones to vote with us! There was a very low voter turnout in 2010. We can't sit out anymore.

[tabbycat31]

85. A lot of Democrats stayed home in 2010

Including some very progressive political geeks that I personally know.

[Jeevus]

16. This is disturbing and infuriating.

All those opposing an imaginary Obama tyranny need to acknowledge who the real tyrants are.

This is a direct, documented - not hypothetical - assault on liberty.

[Ian_rd]

17. This could fucking happen. Especially in a place like Florida ...

... where powerful Republicans have more than once demonstrated their willingness to subvert democracy in order to win elections.

Normally, even if such a plan were pursued legally and within "the rules," public outcry across the political spectrum would prevent it from even leaving the gate. But things are different now. The Republican Party, especially the base, has degraded in some aspects into a pseudo-religious cult, where they believe so strongly that Obama is a threat to their liberty and even their lives, that he must be stopped at all costs, democracy be damned, to save them and their children from the Muslim Socialist Gay Fascist Dictatorship he's currently forcing onto our freedom-loving country.

And with that, public outcry would be largely along partisan lines and therefore seen as yet another partisan disagreement without a "right" answer, even while electoral votes are rigged to go to the loser of the popular vote.

[lonestarnot]

18. If we sit it out on our ass w/o a fight, count on it!

[AndyTiedye]

35. Is There Any Way to Fight This?

I thought we might be able to do so by massive numbers of us moving into their gerrymandered districts,
but even that won't work, since they can redraw the maps faster than we could establish residency
(as they have just demonstrated in VA).

I don't see any way TO fight this. We can yell and scream and protest, but they have the votes,
and the state governments are gerrymandered too, and can be re-gerrymandered as needed.

Does anyone see a way to beat this?

[hue]

20. YUP! This and 99 other ways to steal an election looks like their plan!!

[AtheistCrusader]

21. This breaks the one person one vote paradigm.

Can't be allowed. If two districts in VA outweighed the rest of the state, it seems like the house seat allocations aren't designed correctly.

Maybe time to expand the house, supposed to be one rep per 30,000 people anyway. The number of blue reps in VA should be slightly larger than the red, based on the %.

[samsingh]

22. too bad they won't put their work into honestly winning an election

the picture is going to look very different if Hillary or a 'white' person runs.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. The Republicans want it to be "One acre, one vote"....

Because this:



Equals this:

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

82. And could the unfairness be any more obvious. How has it come to this? It's bad enough they

already get the same number of Senators from each of the sparsely populated, always RW, states.

Obscenity, obscenity, obscenity!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

84. Actually, rural areas used to be solidly Democratic....

Back in the days when working class people voted for the party that represented working class people.

Now those people have become convinced the party of the Wall Street is their ally. It's all due to classic wedge issues.

The Republicans have portrayed Democrats as being for everything they're against while portraying themselves as the defenders of all that is good and wholesome.

[Politicub]

24. American politics is a zero sum game

How are we democrats going to respond? There are a majority of dems in these states.

What about OFA? Recalls? Impeachments?

The states are stripping the right from people to have their vote count for national elections.

This needs to be dealt with swiftly.

Do the people in these states really want to be governed like we are in Georgia? The people in rural Georgia hate the Capitol city of Atlanta which is why our infrastructure is crumbling and mass transit is a joke.

I unequivocally support our president using any means at his disposal to protect the rights of the people. This is his job above all others.

[okaawhatever]

40. Everything they do we can reverse if we get majorities in those states in 2014

I hope that they are waiting to see what the GOP goes after and then plan the attack.

[Politicub]

41. If we're successful in 2014, which is critical

I agree with you.

And if we do win majorities, republican overreach may be the straw that finally breaks the electoral college's back.

I'm fine with our major population centers deciding who our president will be. I prefer urban initiatives - transit and the like - to the odious politics of rural red states.

[Coyotl]

25. Does Ian Millhiser point to WHY they gerrymandered these states?

Was this next step, gerrymandering the Presidency, in their gerrymandering plan from day one?

What we see here is a road map to taking back the House, turning these states majority blue again.

[Moonwalk]

26. Ok. That's nice and frightening. WHAT DO WE DO?

I'm all for scaring us into action--but I'm not into scaring us just to scare us. Then you end up like repukes who stay at home with their guns loaded because they believe there's no other way to deal with what they see as a take over of their country. No legal way, no non-violent way.

So. You've got our attention. WHAT DO WE DO? How do we stop it, change it, alter it. It pisses me off to see it, but what pisses me off more is presenting it as a fiat accompli rather than something we can change.

Don't offer us such facts without also giving us ways to act on them. Otherwise all your pictures have do is make the viewer stare at them and weep. Pictures + "things you can do" = your pictures lead to activism and change.

[Chathamization]

47. Plug in to organizations

like OFA and DFA. Connect with local progressive groups. Connect with other organizers online. People are working on these things, but they always need more volunteers.

[liberal N proud]

27. All the other dirty tricks they have tried failed...

This one looks to be a winner for the corrupt GOP.

[Sheepshank]

28. Can't think of a better reason to do away with Electoral College.

It's about time to seriously consider "one person/one vote"

The Right is providing an impetus for such a move.

[Flipper999]

29. The problem is that the GOP has no intention of doing this in every state.

All of the states that went for Romney will be left untouched. This is just a way for them to impose permanent GOP victory on the nation.

[denverbill]

36. I would think this would require changes to these state's constitutions.

I don't CO could make a decision like this legislatively.

[Ford_Prefect]

38. They have already gerrymandered the districts in many states including North Carolina.

The next steps would not require them to only do this in the 6 states mentioned above.

Florida is already under requirement for review of voting rights due the the Civil Rights Act. They may try to change the districts but a federal judge can force them not to. Virginia may fall under the same review for the same cause. However the legal process may not move very quickly in this matter. Given the present focus of the DOJ on "anti-terror" and drugs I wonder if they will ever get around to real enforcement in Civil Rights cases. Under Holder they seem manifestly uninterested in anything else.

It is regrettable that the new anti-gun fury will bury any coverage of this latest move to distort the election process. The GOP leadership are committing treason and should be arrested for it.

It makes no sense that no one has pursued RICO investigations of ALEC and its activities.

[AverageJoe90]

42. Yeah, that does suck.

I'm all for better gun regulations, but this definitely takes precedence over that.

[judesedit]

39. Get rid of the electoral college. This crap won't matter

[DallasNE]

43. There Is Already A Rural Bias In The Electoral College

Wyoming gets the same two electoral votes as California. After that the remaining electoral votes are based on population rather than Statehood. Michigan, which went for Obama by 9.5% would have gone to Romney by 9-7 in the electoral college under this scheme.

Republicans like to cite the two small population States that already do this. What they don't tell you is that in the decades these States have had this rule only 1 electoral college vote has ever been affected and that was in 2008 when Obama won the Omaha based vote by 1,000 votes. The district was Gerrymander after the 2010 census so Romney won it this time around.

[blkmusclmachine]

44. Where's the Wallflower Democrats?

Shopping for comfy shoes?!?!?!

[Nika]

45. I saw this on the Rachel Maddow show

This is absolutely unacceptable. This must be fought and stopped.

[Blanks]

48. I'm not sure this upsets me that much.

Part of the problem in the last election was the big joke that both candidates were in Ohio constantly.

If all of these districts have been gerrymandered republican; they need democrats to go in there and fight for votes to flip them blue.

The way it is now; entire districts get no attention from any democratic candidate because they are either too red or too blue.

I agree with the dam analogy up-thread; the republican dam is crumbling. Something like this might push democrats to campaign out into rural areas to tip some of these districts from red to blue causing the dam to crumble either more quickly, or more catastrophically.

This method is a more fairly distributed representation than the current system anyway (I've argued for it for years). Eventually the gerrymandering wont make any difference with the way demographics shift over time anyway. If the republicans are lucky; they might squeak out one presidential election, but they'd probably do that anyway. People vote for change occasionally; that's the one thing that doesn't change.

[BlueCheese]

49. This is actually not that unprecedented. It's been that way in Nebraska and Maine for a while.

I guess it's never really been a big deal since those are two small states whose congressional districts tend to go the same way as the state. Clearly, doing this in swing states is a big deal.

A couple of another notes:

Don't some of those states have Democratic governors? They'd be able to block any changes.

It's also amusing that the GOP wants to do that to Virginia. Before 2008 they'd dominated Virginia for half a century. They might actually be giving electoral votes to the next Democratic nominee.

[0rganism]

51. Nebraska and Maine tend to balance each other out

The repugs are doing this in WI, MI, and PA which aren't typically swing states in presidential elections.

Thanks to the 2010 disaster, they have governorships in all 6 states. They can do it.

[BlueCheese]

52. I think public outrage over this will cause it to stop.

But it will require resources and a fight.

Already one GOP state senator in Virginia has voiced her opposition to this. In a 20-20 state senate, that would be enough to stop this in Virginia.

[glinda]

58. I would be surprised if Repubs would care. They don't care. They are doing everything possible

within any legal loophole and they will succeed because it seems the Left really hasn't gotten the reality message yet. IT will get worse. They don't care. No one should even think they do. Sadly.

[rurallib]

53. looks like enough red dots there to make Romney president

fuck.

[yodermon]

55. are enough of these state legislatures/governors up for reelection in 14 to overturn any of this

prior to '16??? Or prevent full implementation?

The new "OFA" (Organizing for Action, now) should make this priority #1.

[xxxsdesdexxx]

56. If we need any more of a reminder of gerrymandering

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/house

[hopemountain]

59. that map certainly gives a real perspective

of the power of "rural"

[underthematrix]

57. It's a slow jam coup de etat funded by the

People's Republic of China and the K*Koch Brothers; coordinated by Mitch McConnell. As my Orily Taitz moment continued for a few more seconds, I came to the conclusion that McConnell's Chinese born wife who came to the US when she was eight was probably part of a PRC sleeper cell. The fact that her father is rich and has ties to the communist party led me to that conclusion. I also read this article on the Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/05/925858/-How-Mitch-McConnell-became-very-rich

Oh well my orily taitz crazy moment is over.

[awoke_in_2003]

60. It is sad to see my home state,...

Ohio, on that list.

[aandegoons]

61. The only way to fix this for good.

One person one vote for federal office. The republicans want land to have a vote.

[nobody_special]

90. Not exactly

Land has nothing to do with the equation. By law those districts are based on a similar number of people. The difference between them is that the blue districts might vote 95% dem while the red districts might be 60% repub. This is an intentional design that allows the Democratic party a couple guaranteed seats as the price for making the Republican party's seats easier to hold although not by that same huge margin but having so many more of them it is the payoff.

[peace frog]

62. Are we ready for President Wingnut?

Last edited Fri Jan 25, 2013, 08:26 AM - Edit history (1)

Prez Teabagger will surely be "elected" if this plan isn't stopped butt-cold, and I see very little fight against it from the Dems. So, who do you like as the winning wingnut?

Edited to add: Rand Paul has already declared he wants (expects?) the job. I used to think it would be a cold day in hell before we would see the likes of a Rand Paul as POTUS, but now I'm not so certain. If you're not scared yet, you should be.

[RBInMaine]

91. Before bashing the Dems, let's allow the issue to actually sprout first. This is just beginning to

rear its ugly little head. Does the TeaLeft really need to constantly bash the Dems? Jesus Christ, give them a chance to address it. And you better bet your aching ass that this SHIT will not just stand. In Maine they tried their disgusting voter suppression SHIT, and beat the living shit out of it at the polls. So just hold your powder and give us a chance.

[peace frog]

95. "Before bashing Dems" ??... you're seeing things not there, RB

Rather than "hold my powder" (say whaa?) I think I'll just keep my powder dry and hold my water. You have yourself a real fine day now.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

100. Rachel Maddow has been reporting on this for months, and the Democratic party ought to be ahead of

cable news on this. Wait for it to sprout? Ever heard the phrase "nip it in the bud"? That would be more appropriate a plan of action.

[RedSpartan]

63. Can state democrats filibuster these bills?

[another_liberal]

64. It's time to get rid . . .

It's time to get rid of the Electoral College. It is only an unnecessary holdover from the eliteist, "only wealthy landowners should vote" days of our nation's founding. Even poor and working class people can vote now and that is how our Presidents should be chosen, by popular vote. Obviously, the current system is far too easy to game.

[Grantuspeace]

66. This could backfire on them.

If a Rick Santorum or another radical was the GOP nominee, wouldn't that put those " red" districts in jeopardy? Faced with a choice of President Santorum maybe these gerrymandered districts could go democratic and the Republicans could lose the house. Kind of like putting all of their eggs in one basket?

[peace frog]

67. Nope

This new system is designed to elect Republicans, regardless who the nominee is or how few votes he or she actually receives. The opposition is guaranteed to lose.

[samsingh]

69. scary stuff - what would the response be if the President consistently lost the popular vote

it happened with Al Gore.

[olsondr]

70. Priority #1

Controlling or reversing GOP gerrymandering, electoral redistribution and voter suppression should be priority #1 for President Obama and the Democrats for the next four years. I live in Wisconsin and with the gerrymandering here the GOP control the Governorship and both houses. There plans are working. It's not fantasy or conspiracy. It may not last forever but even if they succeed in the short term the damage they can do may never be able to be reversed. Any good the President may get done in his second term will be in jeopardy. An amendment either getting rid of the electoral college system completely in favor of the national popular vote, or ensuring that every states electoral votes are distributed based on state popular vote might be the only way to prevent the GOP from neutralizing the progressive majority that we've built in this country.

[underpants]

71. Republicans: your touchdowns are only worth 4 points and our field goals are worth 7

[Bozvotros]

72. Their next step will be to publicly disavow it.

While behind the scenes plan exactly how they will implement it and how to blunt the criticisms that will come. The Bush strategy was to follow up immediately with another outrage as bad or worse that distracts people from doing anything about what just happened. Watch for it.

[VPStoltz]

74. How about progressives introducing a "do it the good old way" bill.

Whoever gets the most VOTES wins.
What a novice idea.

[spanone]

79. that's how they roll....

[cags]

83. Hmmm, land mass voting huh. Whoever owns the most wins. Like monopoly

[nobody_special]

93. Not Land

Percentage of voters favoring each party per district is the point. The land size in question is not part of the issue.

The good news is that to pull this off, they make each of those red districts close enough in election count that a solid effort can push them into the blue camp. However, the designed blue districts are so blue that no amount of effort can win the over.

[totodeinhere]

86. This is going to be tough to stop because it is technically legal.

The Constitution gives the states the power to allocate their electoral votes as they see fit. This is another example of why elections have consequences. Too many Democrats stayed home in 2010 and this is what we have now. It will be crucially important in future midterm elections that Democrats turn out in the same numbers that they turn out in presidential elections. The best way to stop the GOP's vote rigging schemes is at the ballot box starting in 2014. If the Democrats can take back control of the legislatures in those states they can make sure that these schemes are not enacted or reverse them if they are already in force.

[RBInMaine]

92. It won't be hard to stop because the public will pound the living shit out it, and the TeaPukes will

run scared shitless knowing they will be fucking DOOMED at the voting booth in 2014. They tried the voter suppression in Maine and the union busting shit in OHIO and both got CRUSHED and then look what happened in 2012. There would be MASSIVE public backlash and DOOM for their party. Believe me, MANY of them are already thinking twice, BIGTIME.

[reformist2]

94. Let's call them out as to what they're doing... Marginalizing the black vote. Again.

[zeeland]

101. Howard Dean would be the perfect

candidate to head a task force or committee of sorts
to begin damage control.

I would love to see him involved with Obama's admin.
In some capacity.