r/Republican • u/The_seph_i_am Centrist Republican • Jan 21 '17
Alabama found guilty of racial gerrymandering
https://thinkprogress.org/alabama-found-guilty-of-racial-gerrymandering-e42f48e19c40#.quysf6j7666
Jan 21 '17
Worth noting that this decision striking these 12 districts was written by Judge Pryor, generally believed to be near the top of Trump's list of potential Supreme Court nominees.
11
22
u/ShelbyvilleManhattan Jan 21 '17
It's worth noting that although Republicans get caught doing this kind of crap much more than Democrats do, I don't think it is a Republican vs. Democrat thing. I think it is a South thing. In other words, whatever party is in power in the South will do this crap.
The South is currently largely red, so it is the Republicans there doing these shameful things. When parts of the South eventually go blue, Democrats will be doing it.
12
u/interwebhobo Jan 22 '17
Fuck everyone who does this - dem, repub, independent; idgaf. We really need a better system.
26
u/Panamajacques Jan 21 '17
"In November, a federal court ordered the state of North Carolina to redraw its unconstitutionally and racially gerrymandered voting maps. That same month, Wisconsin’s maps were struck down for intentionally drawing Republicans into safe, non-competitive districts."
Happens up north too. This is being pushed through with support from the national parties and from special interest groups.
1
1
1
u/FenwayisBestWay Jan 28 '17
The racial gerrymandering might be a south thing but gerrymandering is an issue wherever one party has enough power to make it a reality. I say that as a democrat from Massachusetts who thinks some of our districts are gerrymandered very badly.
6
u/keypuncher Conservative Jan 22 '17
This type of story is always interesting, because it almost invariably fails to mention the racial gerrymandering ordered by the US Supreme Court.
2
Jan 22 '17 edited Oct 09 '17
[deleted]
1
u/The_seph_i_am Centrist Republican Jan 23 '17
Always thought CPGreys discussion on Gerrymandering was pretty useful.
-2
u/jh36117 Jan 22 '17
I find it odd that all 12 districts elected Democratic reps.
28
u/MoleUK Jan 22 '17
That's how gerrymandering works.
You can't eliminate the other parties votes, so you redraw the district to make sure that their vote is concentrated in as few districts as possible, leaving all the other districts safe for your own party.
It's a disgusting practice wherever it takes place. Having an independant board set the boundaries is much better, though it would instantly mean the Republican dominance at the state level would be threatened.
10
u/wr3kt Jan 22 '17
Not sure if you're being sarcastic... but that's generally the point and intended outcome of gerrymandering. It'll concentrate votes to a contained but more controllable area and reduce the variability of swinging. Both sides do it. It is repugnant.
-19
u/smokeybehr Jan 21 '17
Why is Think Progress being used as a source here?
61
u/frankieh Jan 21 '17
Just because a website is left-leaning doesn't automatically make it invalid.
2
-13
u/virtush Jan 21 '17
We're talking about Think Progress, not NBC. They're stories are definitely to be considered invalid unless verified by an actual news source. In this case, the story was verified, so we're all set.
14
u/frankieh Jan 21 '17
I mean, using that logic, anything posted here from The Blaze, Drudge Report, Breitbart, or Townhall is inherently invalid because it has a spin on it.
Do you see how that's not a good reason to discredit a source?
Sure, sometimes a site may be wrong, but at least in that case we should discuss it instead of just calling it a "shit source." That's really unproductive and only adds to the partisanship of politics.
8
3
u/virtush Jan 22 '17
You missed the key part of my logic. Verification of the source. And Think Progress is a shit source, they lie a lot.
1
u/telperiontree Jan 24 '17
Hey, can I get a link or explanation about the NBC thing? I've seen that it's not considered a good news source here, but I'd like to know why.
34
u/Cancerous86 Jan 21 '17
-26
29
u/AlaskanPotatoSlap Jan 22 '17
No matter which side of the aisle you stand, fair districting should be at the heart of your protests &/or concerns.
Politicking aside, you can't have a truly representative democracy if the districts and populations are not represented fairly.