Redistricting

[Bernard]

If Norm Eisen is for it, I'm with it.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/democrats-fight-back-republicans-trump

A mid-decade redistricting arms race makes some observers uneasy. They fear that Democrats will sacrifice the moral high ground by using anti-democratic measures in the name of democracy, evoking a statement often attributed to a US army major during the Vietnam war: “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”

Yeah well Trump's enablers make me uneasy. What moral high ground? If one party decides to play dirty and cheat to achieve their ends regardless of law and order--which means the end of Democracy--isn't it justifiable to fight them on the battlefield? I can think of countless instances where something that is considered immoral is justified in the name of good. Even some not-so-justifiable (Hiroshima, shall we mention?).

I'm glad to see the fighting spirit in the younger politicians. It's what we need. Biden was unfit for the times he led, leaving far too much slip into oblivion and the hands of authoritarians. Schumer? Is he still alive?

[Piano*Dad]

Democrats don't have a serious choice here. This is a classic prisoner's dilemma. The moral high ground where both sides "understood" the unspoken rules is long gone. If the Democrats continue to play nice in the vain hope that Republicans have a conscience, we surrender to the Fascist Republican Republic of America.

I haven't seen a reliable national map yet of likely outcomes if both sides "do it," but my guess is that there is more scope for partisan gerrymandering in Democratic leaning states, since GOP states are mostly well-gerrymandered already. California is a particularly rich source of potential Democratic seats because they have a commission that redistricts independent of Sacramento. That's gotta go so that seven GOP seats can be eliminated. Too damn bad the GOP will be reduced to a rump even though they have 35% of the vote. That's what the GOP is doing in most other states.