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Half true. It was actually the Florida voters that did that. In 2010, voters state wide passed a referendum, that called for districts to be drawn in a somewhat compact manner.
Gerrymandering was still legal, and continued, however the compactness rule made West's previous district completely illegal. The district was an extreme GOP gerrymander after the 2000 Census in order to try and give Republican Congressman Clay Shaw a safer seat after he very narrowly escaped defeat in 2000. Shaw lost the seat in the 2006 Democratic wave, West won it back in the 2010 GOP wave.
Considering where the district was located (Palm Beach and Broward Counties) there was simply no possible way to draw a legal district that wasn't Democratic.
It wasn't so much a 'conclusion' as a common observation. There were some who figured that the GOP wanted Allen West out of the picture because he wasn't with the program--too extreme.
Had very little to do with that. The GOP basically stuffed every single Republican in Palm Beach and Broward in the 22nd after the redistricting following the 2000 Census in an attempt to save Clay Shaw (who eventually lost in the 06 wave). Florida voters passed a referendum in 2010 forcing the districts to be somewhat compact.
The voters passing the referendum, meant this rather creative design was illegal
Considering how Democratic both Broward and Palm Beach are, West was toast in any compact district.
The districts in most states are gerrymandered to favor Republicans, but this is because Republicans control most of the state legislatures. They do have the right to swing the districts to their favor, but it makes a mockery out of the idea of democracy.
The districts in most states are gerrymandered to favor Republicans, but this is because Republicans control most of the state legislatures. They do have the right to swing the districts to their favor, but it makes a mockery out of the idea of democracy.
can't speak for all states,but at the time of the gerrymandering here in AR the Democrats controlled everything from state to federal. Only since 2010 have we had 2 or more representatives that are Republicans. And just since last month has the state house been Republican since the reconstruction...Certainly whatever occurred with re-districting here was not accomplished because of a Republican house...
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Location: Pine Grove,AL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
The libs say what they want and actually believe themselves: Grayson, in Fl would never have been elected had it not been for gerrymandering; There are several others...No one can know how this affects us, plus it happens on both sides, after every census...
just to be clear, Grayson has been elected twice. which had nothing to do with what i asked.
can't speak for all states,but at the time of the gerrymandering here in AR the Democrats controlled everything from state to federal. Only since 2010 have we had 2 or more representatives that are Republicans. And just since last month has the state house been Republican since the reconstruction...Certainly whatever occurred with re-districting here was not accomplished because of a Republican house...
There were more states in 2000 and 2010 that were Republican Gerrymanders than Democratic ones. Of course, the biggest reason is quite simply more state legislatures were Republican controlled following the 2000 and 2010 elections than Democratically controlled. Chances are if the lines were redrawn after 2006 or 2008 we would have more Democratic gerrymanders.
Of course now thanks to Tom Delay, Perry and the Texas GOP, we don't even need a census anymore to gerrymander we can just gerrymander for the hell of it. Tom Delay spearheaded an effort by the Texas GOP for mid-decade redistricting in 2003 for the 04 elections, not because of a census, but just because they felt like it. Delay got his ass thrown in jail for money laundering that occurred during this whole debacle.
The Georgia GOP followed suit a couple years later, with more mid-decade redistricting, though not quite as extreme as the Texas one.
The Federal Govt has a Law limiting the House to 435 and apportions those seats to the States based on population numbers from the Census. The States are free to apportion their seats by manipulating districts. I think the Federal Govt should amend the Law to require States to determine districts by population, not politics.
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