We are all going to have to come to grips that we will be a minority until 2020...

[WCGreen]

The democrats always seem to drop the ball in the first off year after the census. We need to NATIONALIZE the party so when redistricting comes around again we have some control of the process.

The GOP has TONS of money to spend on local and statewide races that we basically let alone.

Here in Ohio, the Democrats lost any control of the redistricting process in the late 80's and have never even been close again.

We cannot change this country until we make our party a National Party in all ways, not just the President.

Remember that quip Norquist made about the president means nothing except a signature and then get out of the way?

There is some hard truth to that.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

1. 2022 n/t

[Bucky]

2. 2021 n/t

[SickOfTheOnePct]

5. We don't have Congressional elections in 2021

The OP was about control of Congress.

[Bucky]

15. Right. And the OP's point was that we only seem to surge in presidential years.

Being an off year election, 2022 is kind of slanted away from us. And the point I was N/T-ing about was that the Congress actually changes hands in odd numbered years, with the inaugurations, not the elections.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

16. I thought the OP's point was about

Redistricting. If it about Presidential election years, then we'll have another one in 2016.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

3. Same thing happened in FL at about the same time!

I've been thinking along those same lines for a while now. If we don't work as hard in 2014 as we did this year, much of what we have gained in 2012 will be nullified in 2014.

Prior to Jeb Bush FL had never ever given a Republican governor a second term...We are currently suffering through our third republican governor...

[WCGreen]

6. we lost two congressional districts here in Ohio after the census...

But we ended up losing four democrats.

We had one seat at the table when the redistricting was done.

The democrats here in Ohio don't want to make a big deal out of the process because they want to do the same thing if and when, I say never as things stand now, take control of the redistricting process.

It's the same things with elections. The GOP has way to much influence over how elections are CONDUCTED which is more important than counting since you can do things like they did in FLA and here in Ohio, making it hard to vote if your skin isn't white.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

14. Florida gained 2 districts...

and the people of FL passed a ballot measure in 2010 to reduce state legislature control of the redistricting process....It helped but was not a cure-all. I hate safe districts in any party. Eleven months ago I moved from Allen West's current district, the 23rd, to what had been Alcee Hastings' safe Democratic district and to be honest, I was sick at the thought that I would have to cast a vote for that old fool; in any other climate, I would not have. Redistricting saved me and my vote helped elect Lois Frankel. Meanwhile Allen West moved to what he thought was going to be a 'safer' republican district...and he looks like he has lost!

Here in Palm Beach County the SOE is a Democrat but state law governs most of what can and is done during elections. I worked as a precinct inspector (the person who checks your ID and registration) on election day. I was furious because the lines were non-existent for most of the day at most precincts. Why? Because on election day we had about 811 polling sites as compared to a few dozen for early voting....Republicans have known for decades that lower voter turnout benefits them...we need to change that dynamic once and for all.

[Bucky]

4. Just about every incombent White House party gets clobbered in the Year 6 midterms.

Ike's GOP in 1958
Johnson Dems in 1966
Ford GOP in 1974
Reagan GOP in 1986
Bush GOP in 2006

The only exception is Clinton's Dems in 1998, but that was more of an anti-impeachment-for-blow-jobs election.

Hopefully the Republicans will waste everyone's time by impeaching Obama next year. No, I didn't just write that.

[WCGreen]

8. But that had no bearing on the way House Districts are drawn.

That is what I am really pushing here because if we aren't at the table with at least a hand to play in the redistricting, then we will always be on the outside looking in.

In my life time, the democrats held the House from the time I was born until 1994. Since then, the GOP has galvanized behind a national agenda.

The Senate is a whole other ball game. It's the House that we need to win. All budgetary bills have to originate in the House.

I really think that all elections are local, but if you don't have some kind of national framework of issues and beliefs that your candidates can run on, well, you end up with what we got...

[bluestate10]

7. We must start the process now. State legislature races must be won and we need to win

Governor chairs and offices like Secretary of state and State Treasurer. Controlling the process takes time, we must start now, today with a full fledged effort. The DNC is the organization that drops the ball, Howard Dean need to be permanently to run that organization and be given the funds to run it.

[Arugula Latte]

9. Howard Dean needs to come back.

[Savannahmann]

10. Thank You

I've been posting about this for a couple days. I'm glad that others are now talking about it. Until we control the state houses, we can't control the redistricting. The Rethugs gerrymandered themselves into safe seats, which gives them a majority of the House probable for at least eight more fucking years. That means we can't accomplish jack shit in Washington for that entire time. The fucking Tea Baggers are still holding us hostage.

[gulliver]

11. I agree

We need solid candidates and resources for every elective office in the country, regardless of the level. Republicans have lost all sense of principle. They use their offices to strangle democracy, not to do the jobs they were elected to do. Look at Rick Scott.

If you elect a Republican dogcatcher, don't expect them to catch many dogs. Expect them to round up mean strays and release them at the doors of Democratic-leaning polling places on election day.

The only way to "true the vote" is to watch every single nook and cranny in our democratic system and vote Republicans out of them.

[WCGreen]

13. Here in Ohio...

Almost all the money flows to the top as in the Governor.

When I ran for State Senate back in 1996, I raised close to $50,000 from friend, clients and Unions. My opponent raised $400,000.

What I heard from the local democrats in the district was we can't help you because the incumbent will pull funding for our local stuff.

It's that kind of mindset that dedicated people face all the time.

I knew it would be a tough hoe to roe, but I did expect the local party's would at least kick some money into the race.

What Gulled me was the guy who beat me ran into me at a party and he said he was more frightened by me because I was the treasurer of the democratic party at the time.

A lot of good it did me when push came to shove.

I do get it, it would have been a real lean forward for the state and local party's to participate, but it is just axiomatic that if you don't have a hand in the game you will never win...

[justice1]

12. There are to many Republicans in races, that go unopposed.

[GeorgeGist]

17. Word salad.

[WCGreen]

19. Seriously,

Word salad is a "confused or unintelligible mixture of seemingly random words and phrases"[1], most often used to describe a symptom of a mental disorder. The words may or may not be grammatically correct, but the meaning is hopelessly confused. Although term is most often used in psychiatry, it may also be used in computer programming to describe textual randomization. It is frequently used as a pejorative, to describe unintelligible speech or poorly-written literature.


Enlighten us, please...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Well said...K&R!