One of the major goals of the “southern strategy” pioneered by the Republican Party during the 1968 presidential campaign of Richard Nixon was to taint the Democratic Party as the party of “nigger lovers.” More specifically, the GOP understood they could use race as an issue to wedge whites away from a Democratic Party that increasingly seemed to have enlisted… return to article
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Reader Comments (18)Page 1 of 1 pagesWe have to get rid of Bush, Rove, and Delay. They are all a bunch of ruthless crooks. Thanks for this publication.
Posted by Marlene Dowdell on Sep 16, 2003 at 9:35 AM This is a clear cut case of gerrymandering… Its insane...they redrew the lines after the census two years ago and they are doing it again 8 years early… There is something definitely wrong here our “democracy” is nothing but a thin disguise…
Posted by Lana on Sep 16, 2003 at 9:24 PM How about a solution? I like Iowa’s system the best- impartial, uniform, and NOT decided by politicians.
Somebody at In These Times could look/write about that.
Posted by Ty on Sep 19, 2003 at 3:05 AM Have we really become the type of country/government we started out as a repsonse to? What happened to “will of the people” instead of will of who curently holds power?
Posted by Chris Stevens on Sep 19, 2003 at 3:58 AM Just goes to show how desperate the republicrooks are. If you cant win on merit just change the rules..........
ps whens the last time anyone has seen a black person or any minority at an NRA meeting??? just wondering.
Posted by Shawn p Murphy on Sep 20, 2003 at 4:24 AM What a shame—this is the ultimate failure of the single-member district for congressional elections. We should use proportional representation in multi-seat districts (like they do in Ireland) so the map-makers won’t decide which party wins elections—the voters will.
Posted by Dan Johnson-Weinberger on Sep 20, 2003 at 6:13 AM This is exactly the kind of fine-tuned work I have come to expect from Salim Muwakkil, and my only regret about his work is that I don’t get to see more of it.
Posted by Chad Anderson on Sep 22, 2003 at 11:52 AM Republicans power grab is akin to a pernicious cancer. We need a treatment to stop it’s spread before it afflicts the whole of the U.S.
Posted by jm on Sep 22, 2003 at 8:54 PM excellent article, would appreciate being updated on the texas legislative redistricting process.
i am not in the least surprised to read about another power grab by the international corporate government, use of the conservative right wing party.
just another example of how the state legislatures in all 50 states are undergoing these attacks by them, to take control of their legislatures for the purpose of making them “international corporate friendly”.
state laws are the last bastion (consumer protections laws) remaining, which give the common person a say in our state and local governing bodies.
the frankman
Posted by the frankman on Sep 24, 2003 at 12:06 AM Maybe we should dispense with districting all together, ensure there is per capita representation and simply allow majority rule on federal elections.
Posted by Just Me on Sep 27, 2003 at 11:07 AM ...and state elections, too.
Of course, no matter what system of fairness we try to set up, there will always be those who want to get around it, huh.
Posted by Just Me on Sep 27, 2003 at 11:10 AM you’re accusations accusing that the republican party is for the white-anglos and that the democratic party is for minorities is an insult, to both parties. Wake up.
Posted by pat on Sep 30, 2003 at 10:19 AM The author neglects one key point in this story. In the 2002 election, Republican candidates for the US House of Representatives won 56% percent of the vote, but only won 47% of the Congressional seats (15 of 32). The reason this happened is that the judicial panel doing the reapportionment was more concerned with protecting the overall influence of Texas in the House of Representatives (protecting incumbents with seniority), rather than truly representing the political will of Texas voters.
A fair and non-partisan reapportionment would result in a House delegation of 18 Republicans and 14 Democrats (a net gain of 3 for the Republicans, as opposed to the present 17-15 Democratic advantage). However, it appears that Tom DeLay seeks to go overboard in the opposite direction, and wants something like 20-22 Republicans from his state.
Both parties acted unreasonably in this case. Racial minorities should not be artificially “packed” into overwhelmingly minority districts, to dilute their influence, but neither should they be strategically “spread out”, to artificially boost their influence beyond fair representation.
Is it any wonder that independent citizens are disgusted with BOTH parties. They both play the “racial card” - Republicans discriminate in favor of whites, and Democrats discriminate in favor of people of color.
Posted by John F. Bradley on Oct 11, 2003 at 2:53 PM Thank goodness that we finally realize that we can’t play by the rules on something like this. We’ll always lose in that racist environment. Gerrrymandering district locations boundaries by white republicans leads to what? leads to racist senators like delay’s representing me? no no no no. keep up the good coverage and all democrats please run the hell out of statehouse whenever they want to change the roads rounnd your area you represent! stop disenfranchising!
Posted by Rikk on Oct 12, 2003 at 8:32 PM This story is not that accurate since the two thirds rule does not apply during a special session. second minoties are not being disenfrasaties. its the repbulicans that are being hirt and its time for us to stand up and fight. if it wasnt for the republicans the blacks would have not had there liberties in the sixetys if you know your history look it up. im tried of reading such dribble.
Posted by troy on Oct 21, 2003 at 4:10 PM As long as THIS sort of nonsense is even thinkable, much less possible, then hope is lost. Has it dawned on anyone yet that the republican party knows no depth beneath which it will not stoop? That it has little knowledge of the world at large? That it’s only concern is for it’s own welfare and the idiots who support it? This redistricting business is not the action taken in a democracy. Granted, this is a republic, and as such, it seems you elect people to make your decisions for you rather than follow your directions via referendum. America is a tragically failed experiment in human social endeavor. The particularly painful aspect is that it died during birthing.
Posted by Ted Bohne on Oct 24, 2003 at 8:12 PM As long as THIS sort of nonsense is even thinkable, much less possible, then hope is lost. Has it dawned on anyone yet that the republican party knows no depth beneath which it will not stoop? That it has little knowledge of the world at large? That it’s only concern is for it’s own welfare and the idiots who support it? This redistricting business is not the action taken in a democracy. Granted, this is a republic, and as such, it seems you elect people to make your decisions for you rather than follow your directions via referendum. America is a tragically failed experiment in human social endeavor. The particularly painful aspect is that it died during birthing.
Posted by Ted Bohne on Oct 24, 2003 at 8:22 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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