Rep Adam Schiff "First order of business for the new session? Doing away with the gerrymander"

[Bfd]

Link to tweet

[RKP5637]

1. K&R!!! n/t

[Vinca]

2. Pennsylvania is the perfect example of how getting rid of gerrymandering makes things fair.

[FakeNoose]

41. Yes absolutely!

Pennsylvanian here, and it was a long hard battle but totally worth it.
Smart people who know the law, vs. ignorant and selfish GOP incumbents.
What could go wrong?

[DeminPennswoods]

45. Only the PA state GOP leaders hate the new map

Everyone else, including the residents of the new districts likes it because it's fair. There are still districts that favor one party or the other, but at least they are compact and don't divide cities, towns and municipalities.

Personally, I think if the old map was re-instituted, people would be angry.

[meow2u3]

57. But the Pennsylvania state-level House and Senate districts are still gerrymandered

PA Democrats won the statewide popular vote, but still is a minority in both the General Assembly and State Senate, even though we did break the GOP supermajority in the PA Senate.

Someone needs to sue the repukes to overturn these maps as so we can have fair districts for 2020 instead of waiting until 2022 for fairness.

[Dem_4_Life]

3. YES Please!!! Texas especially needs help with this!

Thank you Adam Schiff

[ananda]

15. Yes Texas is the worst

All because of that cockroach Tom Delay!

[Hortensis]

44. This is just one part of our big democracy reform plan.

Democracy reform, including campaign finance reform, is a top priority. Also election laws, ethics laws, special interest policy, and accountability overhauls. Nancy has asked MD's Rep. John Sarbanes to lead the Democracy Reform Task Force, and he has a huge bill ready to introduce first thing as a declaration of intent to the nation.

We won't be able to accomplish all these huge goals this term, of course, but Democrats are committed to them and they have overwhelming support among the public. We'll be learning over time what parts we've managed to accomplish this term and which will have to wait to be finished after the 2020 elections. Like, obviously, getting rid of Citizens United and related legal corruption.

Give us the gavel in the Senate in 2020 and we’ll pass it in the Senate…Give us a pen in the Oval Office and we’ll sign those kinds of reforms into law. - John Sarbanes

Washington Monthly: Fred Wertheimer, the president of Democracy 21, summed up the issues the Democratic majority in the House will tackle with their first bill.

We have a system of campaign finance that takes us back to the Gilded Age and the robber baron era, a voting system that takes us back to the poll tax and voter suppression era and a redistricting system that allows representatives to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives…The very health of our democracy is at stake in this fight to repair our political system for all Americans.

Today Democrats confirmed that their first act in January will be to take up a bill that addresses those concerns. Here are the particulars:

The proposed voting rights reforms include reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act, with constitutional language to restore federal preclearance (stripped by the Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder decision) for changes to voting laws in some jurisdictions. The bill would also institute automatic voter registration across the country and provide funding and expanded oversight power to the Election Assistance Commission. And the measure would require that nonpartisan commissions redraw congressional district maps.

Ethics reforms in the proposed bill would cover the executive and legislative branches. The measure would include extending the cooling-off period before a government official may become a lobbyist, expanding conflict-of-interest laws to cover the president and vice president, give more compliance and oversight power to the executive branch’s Office of Government Ethics and bar lawmakers from sitting on corporate boards.

The planned legislation would create a public financing system for congressional elections and provide matching funds for small-dollar donations raised by participating candidates…Additional reforms would include increasing disclosure for dark money and digital advertising, strengthening laws prohibiting coordination between candidates and super PACs and barring lobbyists from bundling campaign contributions.

[DeminPennswoods]

46. Sounds like a winner to me

nt

[Hortensis]

48. :) Yes! As Rep. Sarbanes says, we intend to do it all.

Just imagine, publicly funded campaigns and no Citizens' United. Independent commissions to draw precinct boundaries.

Personally, I'm really looking forward to short campaigns. Public funding isn't going to support that new, despicable election industry that runs 2-year campaigns, and longer. And putting most of the candidate factories out of business.

[mahina]

79. Lovely. Hopeful!

[Greybnk48]

4. Wisconsin is horribly rigged.

This will be welcome!

[True Blue American]

40. So is Ohio.

[WillowTree]

5. The states will probably take them to court over it if such a thing passes.

The Constitution giving them dominion over how elections etc are handled. If so, will be interesting to see how that plays out.

[3Hotdogs]

20. Is handling an election different from determining apportionment?

[WillowTree]

77. That's among the things that the courts might have to decide.

Or not. Time will tell how a lot of these things finally get worked out.

[CurtEastPoint]

6. And NC: Dems get 50% of vote but only 3 of 13 seats. That's how those fuckers cheat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. +1. USA is progressive liberal nation if remove gerrymandering, dirty tricks, & voter suppression.

[FakeNoose]

43. So true

This is what the Koch Brothers have done to us. Why don't they die already?

[BamaRefugee]

8. and THEN, BRUTAL prison sentences for anyone convicted of voter suppression from now on!

This is the most important right we have as adult Americans!

[Roland99]

9. Yes!!!!

[NewJeffCT]

10. Fantastic start

doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of passing the Senate, but pass the legislation and make them explain why they're against it.

[Le Gaucher]

26. They will not bring it to the floor..no need to explain

[Snotcicles]

11. Michigan voted 61.27% yes on prop 2. It's very popular

to take redistricting away from elected office holders and give it to a citizens committee.

[grantcart]

14. AZ has this and we have 5 D and 4 R in Congress

[Snotcicles]

63. The Republicans have everything so gerrymandered in Michigan the people revolted. nt

[LostinRed]

12. Yes they need to go after this

And other priorities that will make Mitch look bad if he doesn’t pass it in the senate too. After a few victories go after the Trump criminal organization.

[Bfd]

21. That's a big benefit. Pointing a finger right in the crooked Repubs face

McConnell

Wasn't Tx Republican Tom Delay kind of the one who gerrymandered the Repubs into power in Texas?

At least he was the one who's name I somehow hold responsible for redistricting to benefit the Repub Party in Tx.

[littlemissmartypants]

13. HEAR! HEAR!

Thanks for the post, Bfd.

♡ lmsp

[Bfd]

29. I'm loving the Leaders of our January Dem Majority.

Can't wait to watch them show the Repubs what Congress is for.
The people who put them there.

We have such amazing qualified Dems to lead us beyond this Repub nightmare.

It will be exciting & positive again to witness. Not the depression of the predictable Repubs.

We won't get all we want, but what we will get next year is to the benefit of future security for us all.

I am so proud of our Congressional Democrats.
Can't wait!

[littlemissmartypants]

31. Me too, Bfd. Me too! nt

[homegirl]

16. Quickly..

.. and then --Public Financing of Campaigns.

[DFW]

17. How about this one, Congressman?

"Every citizen of the United States has the right to vote. This right initiates at the 18th birthday, and does not expire except in cases of voluntary renunciation of U.S. citizenship. There shall be no other reason or way to extinguish the right of a US citizen to vote. Citizenship constitutes registration. Deliberate denial of the right of a U.S. citizen to vote shall be considered a felony, and cause for permanent removal from any public service position for life. Civil and criminal penalties are not affected by this removal."

[unblock]

18. awesome!

[unblock]

19. not sure how congress can get rid of gerrymandering as it's up to the states.

that said, note also that dividing a state into house districts based on geography is *not* required in the constitution.

each state can choose how to select its representatives.

for instance, everyone in the state could vote in a single big race, and the top x candidates all become representatives (in a state that is alloted x representatives).

not saying that's best, just saying that one can imagine many ways of doing it that don't involve geography.

[Progressive Jones]

33. States must abide by Federal law. nt

[unblock]

42. Not where the constitution explicitly gives a power to the states

The states choose their representatives in a manner of their own choosing.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

59. equal protection under the law

Gerrymandering violates the 14th amendment; it just needs a proper case and a proper SCOTUS.

[unblock]

60. proper case is easy. proper scotus... not so much....

in any event, you can't really get rid of gerrymandering entirely as long as there are geographical divisions.

keeping the problems to an acceptable level is a more realistic goal, and an independent commission drawing up the lines is a good step toward that.

some mathematical algorithm to create the districts or mathematical test to determine how contorted the districts are might also be good.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

61. non-partisan commission

We can be rid of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of district boundaries to achieve artificial, imbalanced political results. It has nothing to do with geography. We can't achieve perfect balance in districts, nor should we, but we can eliminate the undemocratic goal of drawing those boundaries to pre-select the outcome of elections.

It would be great to follow Michigan's recent example, state by state.

[unblock]

62. Independent commissions would work... for a while

Eventually, republicans will figure out a way to make them... not so non-partisan.

It's what they do.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

69. in other words, all is lost, just cease trying?

[unblock]

71. I mentioned improvements. Or we could get rid of geographical districts entirely

[NYC Liberal]

67. Article 1, Section 4:

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.

Emphasis mine. Congress can enact regulations for elections.

[Bfd]

78. ++++ a million

Exactly right.
I'm going with Rep Schiff on this one. He's never been a bullshitter, a liar nor a grandstander.
Schiff knows his place and the laws he makes.

I'll believe Rep Schiff.
(and your post, with highllights)

Thank you

[Honeycombe8]

22. My heart is jumping out of my chest!!! Fairness! Democracy! Every vote counts!

Can this be true?

[AllyCat]

23. Please! It is completely unfair

[NBachers]

24. California has certainly benefited from fair districting.

[LAS14]

25. [phone] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!

[ashling]

27. Let's be realistic, however

This is all going to be played by his idiot base as nothing more than "Legislative theater" because nothing will get through the Senate - or even come up for a vote - with McConnell running the show

The House can hold hearings and conduct oversight, which are important in and of themselves, but they can't make law on their own.

[iluvtennis]

30. But we gotta do the work. Can us that Senate didn't cooperate in the 2020 elections

[Progressive Jones]

34. Nobody is going to be paying any attention to what the Trumpflakes think. nt

[Hortensis]

85. Realistic is Democratic senate, house and presidency

in 2020. That is what will be needed to achieve the larger items the Republicans and their endangered donor class won't allow now. Fortunately, the electoral ducks will be lined up strongly in our favor this time.

Itm, remember, we won't be doing what we can get accomplished now on our own. The Republicans will need to go into 2020 showing they can be functional and with some achievements to brag about. They can't do that on their own either.

[iluvtennis]

28. Bravo

[zentrum]

32. Doesn't get better than Adam Schiff.

[blueinredohio]

35. Start with Ohio. Please!!

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. I heard that a couple of familiar looking dudes had been working on this already, no?

_BwE

https://ndrc.bsd.net/page/s/join-the-national-democratic-redistricting-committee-eh?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImcma1LfS3gIVjIjICh2g-gLcEAAYASAAEgIccPD

[Hekate]

38. Who better? I am sure Schiff has been/will be in consultation. What a team. nt

[Hekate]

37. Bravo Adam Schiff

[Still In Wisconsin]

39. Please start with Wisconsin! We just re-elected Tammy Baldwin to the Senate with a 10% margin, yet

we couldn't pick up a single House seat and we actually LOST seats in the State Legislature!

[calimary]

47. NOW we're talking!

Wish we could abolish the damned Electoral College while we're at it.

[Bfd]

49. Yes. The EC has become useless to a fair election. A point of corruption, & it is time to go

[Cha]

50. This is so Surreal! Life

certainly changed on a dime after months and months of campaigning for Democracy and trump shooting off his big Fascist Dumbshit mouth.

Thank You, Adam Schiff and Bfd!

[beachbum bob]

51. Schiff doesn't get it...congressional districts is a state function and NO democratic

legislation is going anywhere till 2021. It's dead in the senate and dead to a trump veto.

[Kaleva]

52. Some info for you

"Democrats will take control of the U.S. House in January with big items topping their legislative to-do list: Remove obstacles to voting, close loopholes in government ethics law and reduce the influence of political money.

Party leaders say the first legislative vote in the House will come on H.R. 1, a magnum opus of provisions that Democrats believe will strengthen U.S. democratic institutions and traditions.

"It's three very basic things that I think the public wants to see," said Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who spearheads campaign finance and government ethics efforts for the House Democratic Caucus. He said H.R. 1 will "demonstrate that we hear that message loud and clear."....

The bill would establish automatic voter registration and reinvigorate the Voting Rights Act, crippled by a Supreme Court decision in 2013. It would take away redistricting power from state legislatures and give it to independent commissions."

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/12/665635832/democrats-say-their-first-bill-will-focus-on-strengthening-democracy-at-home?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2041

[beachbum bob]

53. Unless McConnel signs on, it dies.

[Firebrand Gary]

54. AWESOME!!! This I fully support as the first item up!

[Amimnoch]

55. Love, LOVE.. LOOOOVE this!!

So past time.

Needs to be put out there, and get the tRumpublicons and Adolph Rumpus on record as opposing it.

Do keep in mind, this will be symbolic at best though. This Senate will not pass any such legislation, and Adolph will certainly veto it even if it did make it past the Senate. Also, States draw their districts, and it will lose against a Constitutional challenge with this SCOTUS.

[former9thward]

56. Except the federal government has no authority over gerrymandering.

The states draw the lines.

[Hortensis]

86. Subject to judicial review. And Democratic house -- Census!!

One of the reasons Trump's raging and fetal-positioning is almost certainly that he finally managed to focus briefly when someone explained what our midterm gains mean for redistricting.

Protecting the integrity of the 2020 census from Republican corruption is a huge priority, and that is one of the items on our democracy reform list we will be able to mostly address.

What will a Democratic House mean for the census?

Come January, Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly -- a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and ranking member of its Government Operations subcommittee -- will be on the majority side, and he made clear the census will be “one of our top priorities because it is so timely.”

“Red and blue states lose out if you don’t get an accurate census,” he said. “It’s arguably the single most important thing required by the Constitution … it needs to be as accurate as possible.”

Connolly said this kind of oversight means bringing Census officials before Congress -- including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “We need to do this in open session with lots of sunshine and hear independent experts as well as from the Census Bureau about their concerns about this question,” he said. “And we need to subpoena Wilbur Ross himself to testify under oath why he misled Congress on who was, in fact, behind the addition of this question.”

Civil rights groups, former census directors, count advisors, mayors and local representatives, along with a national opinion survey commissioned by the bureau itself, have warned that including the citizenship question would likely depress response rates of historically hard-to-count populations. Connolly said the House will pursue a range of options, including “expeditious legislation” to reverse the inclusion of the question. Any legislative solution would need to pass a Republican Senate and receive President Donald Trump’s signature. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York kicked off the first trial over the question on Nov. 5. So far, the trial has included testimony from census advisers and former Director John Thompson.

Democratic control of the House also has implications on the funding side as the census enters its final stretch of appropriations. The bureau is operating under the continuing resolution until Dec. 7. Phil Sparks, co-director of the watchdog group the Census Project, said that Democrats taking the House augurs “a more favorable climate” for the census, pointing out past Republican Houses have “lowballed the census budget number for many years.”

https://fcw.com/articles/2018/11/09/democrats-house-census-gunter.aspx?m=1

[kentuck]

58. I endorse this message.

Schiff should be on any presidential lists, in my opinion.

[Wounded Bear]

64. Can't argue with that agenda...

rather anti-Republican, but .

[smirkymonkey]

65. Hear, Hear!

[ffr]

66. Yes, slow play a reversing everything GOP, Saturday night massacre style

Like tRump's been doing with the DOJ for the past year and one-half.

[SCantiGOP]

68. Kick

For the most important statement a Congressman could make.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

70. Agree

But isn't gerrymandering that something that needs to be handled on the state level?

[many a good man]

73. Feds can order states

to stop racial gerrymandering but SCOTUS not yet ruled on whether they can for mere partisan gerrymandering.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

72. Yay!! Go, Adam Schiff!

[Enoki33]

74. When the GOP can no longer lie and cheat it's way to power, their dwindling

base will inevitably force them to review their principles and messaging. Until then they will continue to pollute our national politics and impressionable minds. Adam Schiff is fully aware of this.

[Generic Brad]

75. About time

Had this been taken care of in 2008 we would not be in our current mess.

[Bfd]

83. Or in 2016.

Election & Voting issues were all written in Clinton's policy platform.

[spooky3]

76. I would like to see them focus on health care. nt

[Hortensis]

87. Well, of course? :) We're the healthcare party, and

virtually all our Democratic candidates focused on the need to provide good, affordable healthcare. That was by far the largest issue for voters in general.

[TwistOneUp]

80. This will actually help GOP voters jn the long run

Bringing them into the 21st century - anybody actually remember that? Their kids will be taught that science really matters. They'll be better humans for being able to see Nature from a science-based view.

Sure, some parents will be pissed off that we didn't let them elect (insert name of next biblical tyrant here), but their kids will be happy and well-informed.

[Hortensis]

88. Absolutely. Everything we do will help them.

I've often thought that Republicans have secretly, unaware themselves, depended on us to take care of them.

For instance, just look at how for several decades now they've been electing people who are known to want to destroy programs like Social Security and in some elections have even promised to. Then look at data showing their intense desire to keep these programs.

America for the first time reached a point where they might have gotten, might still, get what the people they've been so irresponsibly electing, and their donor class, want because we couldn't protect them.

[TwistOneUp]

93. It reminds me of Blazing Saddles

Where Cleavon Little points a gun at himself and threatens to "kill himself" if he doesn't get what he wants.

[Hortensis]

94. Just choked on my coffee

😄 I just got back to the car and I am hiding from the cold while my husband looks at a boat.

But all too apt, and I am remembering Cleavon's face when they swallowed it.

[sharedvalues]

81. MAKE DC A STATE. TWO MORE SENATORS.

[bronxiteforever]

82. This guy, I love this guy!!!!!

Smart, ethical and compassionate.

[ewagner]

84. Outstanding!

Reminds me of the old saying in the military:

What do you do with your last requisition form?

REQUISITION MORE REQUISITION FORMS!

How do you stop the GOP from stealing seats in congress? Take away the ability to gerrymander!

Dems are on the right track.

[eppur_se_muova]

89. 45's EPA has finally found a species worth saving from extinction ... nt

[The Mouth]

90. Every side does it every chance they can

it's been a joke going back at least 150 years:
"It's 'gerrymandering when *they* do it"

[Bfd]

91. Who does it?

[The Mouth]

92. Any party in power

draws districts to their advantage.

They'd be utter fools not to.

Not that the Repubs aren't cheating ratfuckers, but it's silly to pretend that we're perfectly righteous. Illinois' 7th is a thing of geometrical beauty, at least to this poli-sci geek . And Maryland's 3rd, which we hold is... well, creative.

Thus the joke that 'Gerrymandering' is what you call it when the *OTHER* party does it (and 'ensuring fair and representative districts' is what we call it when we do it).

That's why it's best to take it out of the hands of politicians.

Personally I think it should be given to mathematicians, with the instructions to draw the most COMPACT districts with the most equal number of residents, however those end up. Guaranteed to be hated by both sides.

It's why control of statehouses is absolutely crucial to eventually taking the congress and white house. If a party can control the legislature in the census year they can optimize gains next election.

Edited to add various bits of data...