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Supreme Court Hears Case That Could Change American Democracy Forever

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  • jaredsxtn
    2017-10-03 01:31:46 PM
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    The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Wisconsin gerrymandering case that, depending on how the justices vote, could either put limits on partisan gerrymandering or inject steroids into it. If they opt for the latter then Republican dominance of state governments could effectively be cemented for decades to come.

    Democrats wouldn't find themselves in this pickle if they didn't sit out the 2010 midterm elections and effectively hand over redistricting to Republicans in the vast majority of states, but they did and now our only hope is convincing Justice Kennedy to side with the liberals on the court and rule Wisconsin's maps unconstitutional.

    Not surprisingly, the four liberal justices seemed open to stepping in while the more conservative justices seemed more likely to let these types of maps stay in place. Justice Kennedy seemed torn, but many of his questions did seem to hint that he was uneasy about the rampant partisanship involved in drawing district lines.

    If Kennedy sides with the conservatives then Democrats could kiss the possibility of retaking the majority in dozens of state governments goodbye for years, if not decades.

    Thanks again to all those angry so called Democrats who were so angry in 2010 that they sat on their ass and handed over countless state governments to the Republicans. I hope it was worth it!

  • TJ
    2017-10-03 02:35:37 PM
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    Blame whomever you like. The Supreme court was number one reason to win the presidency in November and a damned good reason for trying harder in 2020.

    Real blame belongs with the ineffective party who can't be forced to talk with the hopeless lot in all of those tiny (population) red states. Minorities worth less than a cup of coffee. That's us.

  • jaredsxtn
    2017-10-03 03:06:09 PM
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    Not necessarily.

    The case the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on came from Wisconsin, a state where Democrats won the popular vote in state elections by 167,797 in 2012, but only got 39 seats in the Wisconsin General Assembly compared to the Republicans 60 seats. In other words, the loser "won" 21 more seats than the winner.

    And Wisconsin is not alone. Neighboring Michigan saw Democrats win over 18,000 more votes than Republicans for the Michigan State House, but Republicans have a 63-47 advantage in that chamber.

    Nation wide, in 2016 Republicans won 49.11% of the popular vote in House elections to the Democrats 48.03%, but yet have a 55.4% to 44.6% majority. And that's in a year where many so called Democrats stayed home and boycotted because they couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hillary.

    I can go on and on and on, but simply blaming the Democrats for being an ineffective party just glosses over a much bigger story, which is hyper partisan gerrymandering thwarts the will of the people in this supposed democracy.

    When more people vote for one party, but still "lose" bigly (as Donald likes to say) then something is wrong. I fear it will tear the country apart if it is allowed to continue unabated. How many more elections where Democrats win more of the popular vote but still "lose" in the end do you think it'll take before people say enough is enough?

  • TJ
    2017-10-03 05:15:12 PM
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    It has been happening for a long while. I would love to see it harshly discouraged but we are in a weak submissive minority so I will expect nothing and probably receive that.

  • jaredsxtn
    2017-10-03 05:22:31 PM
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    TJ Wrote: It has been happening for a long while. I would love to see it harshly discouraged but we are in a weak submissive minority so I will expect nothing and probably receive that.

    But the reason we are a weak and submissive minority is because of partisan gerrymandering. More people vote for Democrats, but Republicans continue to "win" because they gamed the system.

    It may seem like it's been happening for a long while, but it's only been happening since the 2010 election that Democrats chose to sit out. That was the first gerrymandering cycle in our country's history where computer algorithms were able to slice and dice congressional districts with precision our country has never seen before. They literally carved out specific streets and even houses in order to give Republicans an advantage.

    That is what is now under review by the Supreme Court. They have a choice. Are we a representative democracy or not?

    Republicans on the court seem to have said "no" today, but Justice Kennedy seemed torn. His decision and his decision alone will decide if the people have a right to choose who represents them or if a minority of the population gets to rule over the majority ad infinitum.

  • TJ
    2017-10-03 06:58:42 PM
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    So I should remain hopeful and trust in the good judgment of a man named Kennedy....

    I like that.

  • Schmidt
    2017-10-03 07:29:13 PM
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    These are what a few of the Republican gerrymandered districts looked like in 2014. They are from a Washington Post article...North Carolina, Maryland, Texas and more. Just browse the article for even more exotic shapes. Any Supreme Court justice who votes for this shit doesn't belong on the court.

    My opinion...

    Washington Post: America’s most gerrymandered congressional districts

    By Christopher Ingraham

    Wonkblog

    May 15, 2014


    Crimes against geography.

  • Maindawg
    2017-10-03 07:34:20 PM
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    It's up to justice Kennedy to come up with a ruling that allows gerrymandering but says it's not cool.

    Like he did with the ACA.

  • Dockadams
    2017-10-04 04:30:30 AM
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    Yes, we are in trouble, and it's just not democrats who are in trouble, it's people who have jobs who work in union shops. Take for instance highway department workers and teachers, steel workers, autoworkers, all are in trouble, and more. And those jobs are not just held by democrat voters either, republican voters are union too, wait till their wage concessions come along and their benefits get stripped because of the supreme court. Just wait, it's going to get worse. we are in trouble.
  • wwjd
    2017-10-04 07:44:40 AM
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    Long term things will be set right, it remains if the court decides to take a step backwards first.

  • Schmidt
    2017-10-04 08:42:20 AM
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    By the nature of the questions being asked by Kennedy, the consensus is that Kennedy will vote with the liberals against gerrymandering. It really should be a no-brainer, but it is indicative of how politically partisan the other conservatives on the court really are...especially Gorsuch and Alito, the two worst in my mind.
  • Dutch
    2017-10-04 09:08:31 AM
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    I don't want to beat an dead horse again; but all of this is typical if this country refuses to make proper voting laws or is "champion" in corrupting everything because of the "system"; which is asking for corruption. I've said a million times that the Constitution should be revamped and amended a lot more than 17 times in 300 years . Especially things which are the most important like "elections" should be tamper proof without any "money" involved. Sorry this country because of antique laws, has become corrupt to the bone. How is it possible that you can elect here the dumbest ass, without any screening or "background checks" whatsoever and "gerrymander" your way to the White House. And certain people still say; there is nothing wrong with this country; just elect an Alabama antique cowboy with an six shooter, who beliefs that an "invisible" God thing caused 9/11 . NUTS.
  • TJ
    2017-10-04 12:03:33 PM
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    Arnold Schwarzenegger just had something on social media wherein he said: Herpes and Colonoscopies are more popular than congress (16%) but... they are always reelected. Why ? Gerrymandering. It was a good speech about how those who created the problem won't be the ones to fix it.

    Look it up - watch.

  • Dockadams
    2017-10-04 01:22:34 PM
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    Here's the youtube video

    youtube.com/watch?v=Qfc3N0ZngXs

    politicians picking the voters

  • TJ
    2017-10-04 02:25:43 PM
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    Thanks for the link. 70% of this country's voters have no idea how bad it is.
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