But It Isn’t Sexism
Two South Florida Congresscritters have said they won’t campaign against three conservative Republican incumbents. One is a black male and the other is a white female. You want to guess which one is being attacked on the ‘Net?
Right in one, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is being bombarded from all sides, but no one is talking about Kendrick Meek. The comments thread that accompanies John Amato’s post at Crooks and Liars is not quite in wingnut territory, but it is a general display of ignorance about the realities of South Florida.
If you wonder what people mean about “gerrymandering”, look at Ms Wasserman Schultz’s 20th district in the National Atlas. The Republicans spent a lot of time designing districts to ensure that while there are more registered Democrats in Florida than Republicans, Democrats can only win one-third of the Congressional seats, and one-third of the seats in the Florida legislature. It’s some world-class mapping on display.
If there are no major changes in what the national Democratic Party is doing in the contest for the Presidential nomination, it is highly likely there will be no Democratic Presidential candidate on the Florida ballot. Without a Presidential choice, a lot of Democrats will not bother to vote, and incumbents will be hard pressed not to lose their seats to Republican challengers, even with paper trails. Democrats will have to campaign extra hard to be sure of enough of a turnout to win re-election.
Hopefully, their efforts will be enough to stop Amendment 2, a “defense of marriage” fraud, but there are no guarantees. It is possible that 2008 will be lowest turnout in the state for decades, thanks to the planning of the Republicans, and the willingness of the national Democratic Party to make matters worse.
6 comments
WADR, welcome, Bryan, to the world Texans have inhabited since 2003, the year the GOP rereredistricted Texas to its own advantage.
I live in a solidly Democratic precinct, in a formerly solidly Democratic congressional district (much of it African American and/or Hispanic). Tom DeLay and his evil henchmen (with the help of the Texas judiciary) carved the most interesting boundaries so that I have been, for the past two elections, on the “R” side of the boundary of a very Republican district. There is, of course, exactly zero chance that this happened by accident, and it is not the only instance of such GOP gerrymandering in the state in that year. No minds were changed in the making of these district boundaries, but a helluva lot of districts changed from “D” to “R” in the process.
The whole point of the GOP is to render representative democracy irrelevant, everywhere in the nation. Can we stop them? Well, we failed here in Texas. I hope you have better luck than we had.
Not a chance. They started the process in 1992 pushing term limits to unseat long time Democrats in the state government and were in charge of the re-districting after the 2000 census. One-third is the most the Democrats can win until after the next census. The Republicans hold one Democratic seat, the 13th, because of touchscreen machines, but that should come back this round with paper ballots, but Mark Folley’s district will probably be reclaimed by the GOP, so it will be a wash.
If you look at Debbie’s narrow twisting district you can see the effort that had to be used to produce a district that is only slightly Democratic. Low turnout and a moderate Republican candidate who is Jewish or Cuban, and she’s in a battle to the death.
The three seats that are at the heart of this are Cuban. If you aren’t a Cuban, you would be wise to avoid the fight, because you will hurt the Democratic candidate. If the people contesting those districts want to fight over Cuban policy, don’t get involved, it is a loser.
All these people complaining about Debbie, and they don’t even know who Allen Boyd [D-FL2] is. If you want to target a DINO, Boyd’s the one. He’s a Democrat only because the rural counties to the East of me haven’t bothered to change their party affiliation, They are Strom Thurman Democrats.
The Kosbots are mad one of their own is not responding when they call in a favor. That’s what started all this.
P.S. I’ve noticed I have to force the page over and over, once again. I’m sure now it wasn’t the template, but maybe something to do with your hosting. I think…
If this comment posts your good in IE7.
Bryan,
Are you saying that because of the primary date thing in Florida and the fact the DNC has gummed up the works for Florida delegates that there won’t even be a Dem on the November ballot in Florida for Prez?
Frederick, it’s a DNS problem with the .us TLD and has been going on for a month. The effect is varied throughout the day, and I’m considering changing the URI, but that would be such a PITA, especially since I just renewed for two more years.
Fallenmonk, I’ve been warning people since February that under Florida’s election law that is a very probable outlook, and posted on the fact that the Republicans may make it final during the current legislative session. If Florida doesn’t have a voice in selecting the nominee, the individual is not eligible for the Florida ballot. Laws trump party rules every time.
When I originally noticed the problem, it was apparent that anyone could challenge the Democratic nominee’s name on the ballot, if the Florida delegation doesn’t get to vote on the nomination. But no one seems to notice. See I Told you This Was Coming for the details on the Florida Republicans talking about it.
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