Our nation can’t stand Pat?
The European and aboard reparation contracts proved a lucrative incentive to oppose affiliation with the fascist regime. After all, the Rothchilds wanted their penny in.
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Demcrats have, and even still do participate in gerrymandering. But the extent of GOP gerrymandering. As well is its baldly political aims and often racially driven nature. Is almost completely unprecedented. Since 2012 at least The GOP has gained more seats than you would expect given their share of the vote. An old article but it happens to be near the top of google results and have the numbers I can never remember off the top of my head:
"As a result, in 2012, Democrats won 51 percent of all major-party votes cast for House candidates but just 47 percent of all seats. In 2014, Democrats won 47 percent of all major-party votes but just 43 percent of the seats. "
The GOP has built, by most metrics (this is an astoundingly simple one), a playing field where they get a decided. And growing advantage. Representation disproportionate to their actual share of the vote and support among the public. The Disproportion is often much larger down ballot, in state level races. And has been growing from election to election.
The end results on national elections are not neccisarily large. You’re talking less than 20 seats overall. But like I said the effects are often larger at the state level (where the power to create other kinds of electoral advantages exists). And 10-20 seats can be more than enough to ensure you maintain a majority in tight elections. Even though DNC benefiting gerrymanders still exist (although they seem to be less extreme), the over all effect nationally is a clearly identifiable advantage for the GOP.
And that’s before you get into other ways they seek to advantage themselves. Like all those voter suppression measures.
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I added an ETA on my reply above. But my point is we should approach it not just from an “end Republican gerrymandering” to “end gerrymandering”. With that approach one can’t really defend gerrymandering or make excuses. And it is relatively easy for one to convince people to be against it.
Just ask someone, “Do you think it’s fair that Democrats in some districts have organized the voting borders so that it is impossible for anyone but a Democrat to get elected? Would you like to see an end to this unfair voter manipulation?”
Swap Democrat for Republican when asking a Democrat, or leave them both in for an Independent. I think one would have nearly 100% agreement if phrased that way.
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2016 was the highest turnout we have had outside 2008, and in swing states it had some of the highest turnout ever.
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Thanks for the correction. The original totals after the election showed the Republican vote about the same, and the Democrat vote much lower than 2012. I guess since then there has been updates to the vote totals.
I retract that statement then.
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The law in question is the constitution. Which was indeed written to give disproportionate representation to smaller an more rural states (especially in the south). But in the eighteenth century. More over our current interpretation of the constitutional electoral frame work only dates to the seventies.
You can crassly describe people as hillbillies and idiots all you’d like. But the number of rural uneducated whites who switched between election is quite small. And only had the effect it did because it occured in key states where there was also a turn out collapse in terms of reliable DNC demographics. Like African Americans. There are far larger groups that backed Trump just as more disproportionately. Like college educated white men. Who are counter intuitively a reliable GOP block. And college educated white women who voted GOP to much larger extend in 2016 than they did for Obama in the previous two elections.
Highest we have had since the 70’s. Discounting 08. Turn out was still only around 55% of eligible voters. Which still makes out turn out shit poor and compared to many other democratic nations appallingly low.
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Make it a paid holiday. No excuses, then. IIRC Puerto Rico does this. Vote early and then day drink. Win win. Or day drink and then go vote, which ever.
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Sorry, I didn’t mean @Mister44 was pretending I meant how trump and his ilk presenting themselves. The idea that politicians courting racists don’t really “mean it” never ever matters in the end it still bad.
I didn’t mean to disparage you or Mister44, I’ve gotten irritated by all the “Just faking it” nazi stuff people are playing in politics and groups these days.
(The pronoun game tripped me up)
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FWIW, I didn’t think you meant me.
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I just think it is a very important correction because the misinformation at the end of 2016. The data basically supports that republicans attracted enough rubes and/or frustrated racists to squeak out a win against the typical voting block of Democrats minus obstructed voters (particularly true in WI, PA, and NC where their voting laws from 2016 were rejected by the courts). I think it’s just much easier to look at the election and say the country does not have a larger race problem than many hoped, and find the answer in a direct failure of a candidate that is more polarizing than unpopular.
And while the next part is my personal bias, I think it is a lot easier for people to say “the south” is where the race problem while the Midwest is generally held as the standard for “American values” by a majority. I however, never got that experience in the area and find Texas to be less divisive on racial boundaries than the lengthy time I lived and grew up in MI and OH and from working traveling around IL, IN, and PA too. To me it will always be much easier to find other logical reasons to think “Trump can’t be that awful” or “my coworker couldn’t be racist despite saying that” or “well sure, but only in the boondocks” rather than directly address the minority issues in the United States with an open mind. I know you just recently said you cannot deny Trump isn’t directly enabling white supremecists recently, and I also know that while I reached that conclusion earlier it wasn’t easy for me to admit it either - but I also had a lot of people just accept me into their racist fold for some reason and open up that side of themselves over the years. I can’t remember a single time it didn’t shock me.
Anyways, I’m losing coherence and just rambled on so I’ll stop.
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I’m pretty sure you can consider “in modern times” implied in a statement like that. I didn’t say 2008 was the highest ever, and swing states (i.e. the ones tha had a swelling in support for Trump) have turnout more like 70%.
EDIT
Also, the constitution is a living document - which is something everyone should realize in any conversation about modifying voting rights. Sort of a fundamental aspect of the document.
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There’s also no prize for being second or third in the Presidential vote. It’s not like #2 gets to be the VP or anything–that’d be crazy! 
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Its already a holiday in many places. And federal offices and many business are already closed. Salaried workers and wage workers with overtime/vacation/holiday rates may get paid for it. Or get over time should they work.
But The US doesn’t and can’t dictate that workers can not work on any given day. And they can not force employers to pay employees for it. Not every job comes with things like sick time. Holidays. Over time etc.
And even if you don’t have to work on election day it does not automatically make it plausible that you can still make it out to vote.
For that reason its generally been found that although making election day a formal business/civic holiday can have a small positive effect on turn out. It really doesn’t improve things that much. Those most likely to have trouble getting to the polls when its not a holiday. Are also those least likely to get the things like holiday pay, holidays off, etc that purportedly would help them get to the polls. Simply put they aren’t afforded the privledges that the tactic relies on.
Much larger effects come from making voting easier in other ways. Vote by mail. Early voting. Extra polling places. Public transport and voter busing. Fewer restrictions and deadlines on voter registration.
All things the GOP is currently _removing _ or preventing from being instituted as part of their voter suppression efforts. GOP candidates (especially in state wide, and nationwide races where congressional districts don’t play in) tend to do worse in direct proportion to voter turn out. Gerrymandering may result in just a small advantage but combined with all the other stuff going on you start to see the explanation for their near lock on certain sorts of offices.
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I mean, as a white guy, now is not the time to be worried that other people will think you are a nazi. Maybe just tell people what you stand for? You should definitely have a pride flag though, at least on your desk if not on your shirt.
You forgot to include the car.
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Yes it is. Thank you again, sincerely.
Another idea, is to open the Executive branch up to more than one person. I am a little surprised this wasn’t done back in the day, but it would have been too radical Though the president, IS limited in direct power in a lot of ways. The legislative branch ultimately has the most power if they can all agree on something. But none of the other branches have it consolidated to one main guy and a back up.
In Switzerland they have 7 people head the executive branch. Rather neat idea if one wants to spit ball something new.
Hmm - so how do “National Holidays” work? ie. Labor Day and Memorial Day. If what ever law was enacted to make Labor Day happen was done again for voting day, I can’t imagine any business NOT going with it. Closing early etc for the big chain stores, or closed for a slot of time during the day. Hell, places like walmart could bus people to and from work. I know lots of larger companies already have a “floating” holiday or two already in the schedule.
Missouri has pretty easy registration set up. And when I worked the polls many years ago, the bent over backwards to get anyone who came in a way to vote, including same day registration options. But yes, we should be making sure everyone who wants to can. I think there are far more people who just don’t care/see it as pointless.
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Some way of stopping the parties from handing out the important Congress committee seats to the hacks who buy them with contributions to the party earmarked in their name from monied interests would be good too.
Committees are where most of the real work of Congress happens, and some science and technology subcommittees are headed by the worst creationist or old coal types because they have the money backing.
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Yeah right. It’s also vague enough that we need additional laws to practically carry thing out. Our currently electoral structure came about in the 70’s.
But the base skew toward rural states and areas is a result of the constitution itself. And it wasn’t about empowering “rubes” and hillbillies. It was mostly about giving disproportionate influence of wealthy educated Southern slave holders.
Not the way you think.
Haven’t worked in a restaurant or retail lately have you? Not all jobs even come with paid sick time and overtime/holiday pay.
Nothing about national holidays dictates that anything other than government offices have to close. Your ability to get those days off is based 100% on the policies and requirements of your particular employer. And whether you will be paid is likewise contingent on the terms of your employment and precise regulations your type of jobs fall under.
Just passed one of those voter ID laws intended to make it much harder to register and vote that form the backbone of GOP suppression efforts. Interestingly acquisition of a valid to vote id in these states often costs more adjusted for inflation than the old poll taxes that were ruled unconditional. Even with “free” ids as the central dodge that allows voter ID to function.
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