How Republicans Could Rig the Battle for Control of Congress

[Nevilledog]

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Important from @RonBrownstein: A new report shows how the GOP can use extreme gerrymanders to win control of the House in 2022, underscoring the stakes for passing national reforms that will rein in GOP countermajoritarian tactics:

How Republicans Could Rig the Battle for Control of Congress
The stakes for Democrats’ election-reform plan couldn’t be higher.
theatlantic.com
7:49 AM · Feb 11, 2021

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/02/democrats-need-hr-1-and-new-vra-protect-party/617987/

Democrats face a daunting future of severe Republican gerrymandering that could flip control of the House in 2022 and suppress diverse younger generations’ political influence for years to come, according to a new study released today. Those findings underscore the stakes in Democrats’ efforts to pass national legislation combatting such electoral manipulation.

The four big states to watch are Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, where the GOP enjoys complete control over the redistricting process, says Michael Li, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice and the author of the new report on how congressional redistricting could unfold following the 2020 census. “Those four states, which are seat-rich and where Republicans control the process, could decide who controls the next Congress,” he told me.

Over the longer term, Republican states could impose gerrymanders that prevent the nation’s growing nonwhite population from building political power commensurate with its numbers—even though voters of color accounted for about four in five newly eligible voters in the past decade, the study found.

The report, which was provided exclusively to The Atlantic, comes as Democrats prepare to advance two bills to guarantee voting rights and reshape the rules regarding federal elections: a new Voting Rights Act and the omnibus legislation called H.R. 1. Both bills, which the Democratic-controlled House approved in the previous session, are likely to pass the chamber again this year—with H.R. 1 potentially winning approval as soon as early next month, House aides say. But both are virtually certain to be blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster—unless Democrats change the upper chamber’s rules to allow them to pass with a simple-majority vote.

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[Gothmog]

1. The GOP cannot win without cheating

There will be a battle in Texas over gerrymandering

[uponit7771]

2. K&R, right now is a time to crush the kGQP control of congress because if they get control back they

... will make sure to make America's life hell.

There was no Trump without the support of the kGQP in congress ... fuck them, they need to go yesterday.

[Proud liberal 80]

3. See this is the Democrats problem

I wish that every state had a independent commission that redraws the districts, but this isn’t the case and we have ourselves at a disadvantage by playing by different rules....two good examples are Colorado and Virginia where Democrats finally have control of the government, but because we always want to do the right thing both states have commissions so we won’t be be able to gerrymander in our favor while Texas, Florida, and Georgia Republicans will....same thing in California, there is no reason why Republicans should have as many congressional seats in that state, but they do because of a independent commission....we really bring knives to gunfights

[Phoenix61]

4. Difficult to germander by age and the youth vote has definitely grown.

I think the key is going to be to keep them engaged. So far, they are really liking Joe. Fingers crossed that continues.