Wednesday, September 24, 2003
The continuing coup: Texas
Looks like Rovelican Texas redistricting plan is going through—thanks to one Democrat who broke ranks. There's a lesson for us there, eh?
The SCLM takes the Republican line that this is about bringing Texas congressional seats in line with current state voting patterns. And yes, current state voting patterns favor the Republicans.
But redistricting has always been driven by the 10-year Census, not the election cycle. This is good, since (politicians being what they are) otherwise we'd have a redistricting fight after every election. The system is healthier on the 10-year cycle.
But the Republicans don't care about the health of the system because they intend to abolish it entirely.
The Republicans believe (if we look at their actions) that once they seize power, they will never have to give it up again (can you say "Diebold"?). They are radicals who are playing for keeps, and the Democrats are still playing business as usual.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."
Sound familiar?
The SCLM takes the Republican line that this is about bringing Texas congressional seats in line with current state voting patterns. And yes, current state voting patterns favor the Republicans.
But redistricting has always been driven by the 10-year Census, not the election cycle. This is good, since (politicians being what they are) otherwise we'd have a redistricting fight after every election. The system is healthier on the 10-year cycle.
But the Republicans don't care about the health of the system because they intend to abolish it entirely.
The Republicans believe (if we look at their actions) that once they seize power, they will never have to give it up again (can you say "Diebold"?). They are radicals who are playing for keeps, and the Democrats are still playing business as usual.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."
Sound familiar?
