American Politics VII: Virginia Reel

[Comerciante]

or one can be proactive (in the "you could've done this as soon as january 20" sort) and uproot the gop, root and branch, leaving no elected or appointed official behind

I honestly wish I had your optimism. You still believe Americans are ready to act in their own best interest despite our long history of doing the opposite. Hang on to that optimism.

When peaceful demonstrations and "democratic elections" stop working violence is the last resort for change, and the people need to wield that power instead of being lazy and content with their lot in life.

It really should be moved up a few steps. Like maybe 4th or 5th.

Putting it off for to long seems to make it inevitable.

[Dresderstan]

or one can be proactive (in the "you could've done this as soon as january 20" sort) and uproot the gop, root and branch, leaving no elected or appointed official behind

I honestly wish I had your optimism. You still believe Americans are ready to act in their own best interest despite our long history of doing the opposite. Hang on to that optimism.

When peaceful demonstrations and "democratic elections" stop working violence is the last resort for change, and the people need to wield that power instead of being lazy and content with their lot in life.

It really should be moved up a few steps. Like maybe 4th or 5th.

Putting it off for to long seems to make it inevitable.

We have been putting it off, clearly the demonstrations and elections haven't worked.

[The Black Forrest]

Is it? He seemed to do a tap dance to keep ahold of the trump followers.

That endorsement may have a price tag.

You mean the thing that had the entire media use simply as a method of attack that apparently didn't work?
That's part of the problem, if the only strategy the Democrats have is to forever go "JAN 6 COVID DEATHS, TRUMP" Those things eventually lose traction, just like how "INFLATION, AFGAHNISTAN BIDEN BAD" stuff will also wear off and lose traction as well on the right.

Youngkin actually played a balancing act between taking Nods from Trumpland while trying not to completely fall in. But he's going to have to keep that balance act going from this point on.


Also, the Democrats are going to need to have a better strategy than screaming Trump at the top of their lungs for eternity, like delivering on promises, ultimately if Youngkin won it's because the Democrats haven't delivered and like I said before, let's hope this convinces Democrats that it's time to deliver.

If they deliver, I think the pain in the midterms will be weakened if not possibly reversed.

Unfortunately if the Republicans get crushed in the Midterms I think they'll crawl back to Trumpism. Because Trump can easily take advantage of Republicans when they're demoralized.

Not followed the race as…well….it doesn’t affect me directly. I only recently learned one of his big selling points was banning CRT from being taught to the kiddies. The problem? The article I read said it wasn’t taught.

I would be curious to see if he has any “real” plans to help the Virginians.

Anyway.

[Kowani]

Good news for the natural gas industry tonight, as Maine voters reject a new electric transmission line

[Shrillland]

Good news for the natural gas industry tonight, as Maine voters reject a new electric transmission line

Well, it was clean Quebecois power...or the trees. They chose the trees.

[Kowani]

Detroit voters approve initiative to decriminalize mushrooms & psychedelic drugs,, Colorado voters reject referendum on lowering property taxes

[Shrillland]

Detroit voters approve initiative to decriminalize mushrooms & psychedelic drugs,, Colorado voters reject referendum on lowering property taxes

Well, in Colorado's case, it was because a law was passed in June that changed the definition of whose taxes would be lowered. Only hotels and motels and the like would've seen decreases as other businesses had already seen theirs lowered from the TABOR-approved law.

[Shrillland]

I'm off for the night, we probably won't know New Jersey for another day or two.

[Libertarians]

This ups the pressure on Breyer to resign from SCOTUS as soon as possible. Conventional wisdom was he would have done it by now, with most thinking he would have resigned in October when the last term ended. You’re going to see panicked calls for him to step aside so they can fast track someone new in and get it out of the way before midterm campaigning starts in just a few months.

[Galactic Transylvania]

This ups the pressure on Breyer to resign from SCOTUS as soon as possible. Conventional wisdom was he would have done it by now, with most thinking he would have resigned in October when the last term ended. You’re going to see panicked calls for him to step aside so they can fast track someone new in and get it out of the way before midterm campaigning starts in just a few months.

Not only will he not, but I imagine he will face shockingly less criticism for not doing so than RBG has recently.

[The Lone Alliance]

Really to be more accurate, we had far right, far left, centrist, and "We don't care what side you're on stay the fuck away from our homes' militias patrolling the streets last year.

I must say that a centrist militia would be best at keeping law and order.

They might, but they're also the ones most likely to go lawful stupid on you.

[Libertarians]

This ups the pressure on Breyer to resign from SCOTUS as soon as possible. Conventional wisdom was he would have done it by now, with most thinking he would have resigned in October when the last term ended. You’re going to see panicked calls for him to step aside so they can fast track someone new in and get it out of the way before midterm campaigning starts in just a few months.

Not only will he not, but I imagine he will face shockingly less criticism for not doing so than RBG has recently.

RGB faced no real criticism at least widely until it was clear she would not live to see Dems get another majority. That lesson was learned, I don’t think Breyer will get it as easy. Also RGB had the shield of “no one can tell a woman to go home” that made it unpopular to suggest she was selfish. By contrast the woke crowd will be all to comfortable telling Breyer he is an old white man that needs to GTFO. Breyer not heeding that learned lesson would be a gut punch, or waiting until June 2022 when he’d make SCOTUS a major midterm issue and likely growing the wave would be an equal gut punch. I’m honestly not sure which one would get him dragged worse.

I suspect it is going to get very serious for him very fast. This is a clear warning sign the Dems are in real danger of losing the majority and if they do that seat is gone based on what Dems pulled with Kavanaugh.

[Kowani]

Missouri lawmakers considering using only the citizen voting age population for redistricting

Before slavery ended in 1865, large numbers of Missourians didn’t count in the population base used to allocate the seats in the General Assembly.

In the 1821 Missouri Constitution, only “free white male inhabitants” counted in the distribution of Missouri House seats, leaving out white women and all Blacks, free or enslaved. A change in 1849 added white women to the base.

The entire population has been used since the Constitution of 1865.

But as the once-a-decade process of redrawing political district boundaries gets under way following the 2020 Census, there’s some concern that could change.

As the two 20-member commissions work to design state House and Senate districts that will be used for the next five legislative elections, a question has come up repeatedly: Whether to use the entire population, or just citizens old enough to vote, in setting district boundaries.

This question was the subject of the only substantive vote taken so far by either commission. And while Republicans on the commissions insist that leaving children out is not on the table, Democrats remain concerned it could still be an option.

And that has put public interest watchdogs on edge. When former state auditor Susan Montee, a Democratic redistricting commissioner, tried to get her colleagues on the Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission to go on record in favor of including people under 18 in districts’ population count, she failed on a straight party line vote.

The eight Democrats present all voted for Montee’s motion, and the 10 Republicans were opposed.

The question came up again during an Oct. 21 hearing of the House Independent Bipartisan Redistricting Commission in St. Louis. Travis Crum, an associate professor of law at Washington University, testified that excluding children and non-citizens who could not vote would have its biggest impact on minorities.

More than 50% of Hispanic and Asian residents would not be included, along with 28% of Black Missourians and 21% of whites, he said.

“Our recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that this would skew political power to wider and more rural areas, particularly hurting the St. Louis suburbs and the Kansas City metro region,” Crum said.

Approximately 22% of Missouri’s residents are under 18, data from the 2020 Census shows. There is no firm data on citizenship, but the Census Bureau, using the 2019 American Community Survey, estimated last year that 24.2% of residents are non-citizens or too young to vote.

The question of who will be included arose because the Republican-dominated state legislature rewrote the process for designing districts. The changes were put on the ballot as Amendment 3 and approved by voters in November.

Amendment 3 repealed the redistricting process mandated by an initiative passed two years earlier by a group called Clean Missouri. Along with other changes, lawmakers added a new phrase, never before used in the constitution, to guide the commissions.

Districts, the constitution states, “shall be drawn on the basis of one person, one vote.” Since that language was first proposed, it has raised concerns that new districts would not count non-citizens or children.

During the debate at the Springfield meeting, no Republican member of the Senate commission argued in favor of districts based on citizenship and age. Some said they were confused why it was even an issue.

“I apologize, but if we’re abiding by the constitution, and the constitution says that we’re abiding by the population, and the population numbers that we’ve been given include children, why is this even an issue?” asked Leann Green, a Republican from southeast Missouri.

Still, the issue remains, said Sean Nicholson, who directed Clean Missouri and is now monitoring the commissions as the director of Fair Maps Missouri.

“I remain confused why some of the commissioners won’t clarify that it isn’t part of the plan,” Nicholson said. “It is illegal, it is discriminatory, and at the end, we are going to have maps based on the total population.”

The Springfield vote on who to include in the population base wasn’t on the agenda, but Chairman Marc Ellinger, a Republican, allowed almost a half-hour of debate before turning to the only item on the agenda, public testimony.

Democratic Commissioner Mike Frame kicked off the discussion by proposing the commission endorse a statement that it would use total population as the basis for its plan. He said he was reacting to testimony during earlier hearings raising concerns that the maps would be based on the state’s population of voting-age citizens.

Using the entire population “is required by law and it’s the right thing to do, so our families and communities are fully represented from the new legislative districts,” Frame said.

Ellinger said he read the Constitution to require districts based on the total population, but he opposed Frame’s proposal. The phrase “one person, one vote,” is only used once, he said, and everywhere else, the constitution uses the word population to describe the starting point.

“It says population, population, population,” Ellinger said. “I guess to my, my thought, commissioner, I’d be happy to entertain a motion saying the commission will comply with the constitution and the laws of the state of Missouri.”

A close voice vote approved a motion from Republican Commissioner Chris Slinkard to substitute Ellinger’s statement for Frame’s proposal.

Then Montee asked to add a second sentence, that the base would include Missourians too young to vote.

“I’m just trying to stop any controversy for the public thinking that at some point, we’re going to say, hey, we’ve decided to draw the maps without children in them,” Montee said.

With the public hearings drawing to a close, the discussion of which population number to use will get more attention in the commissions’ work session. The redistricting process was triggered by the delivery of census results from 2020. The commissions each have 20 members: two from each of the state’s eight Congressional Districts and four at-large members. They are nominated by their parties and chosen by the governor. Each commission’s map must be approved by 14 members, meaning neither party can force through a plan by a bare majority.

The commissions have until late January to complete their work.

Determining which areas would gain representation and which would lose clout under maps that exclude children from the count is fairly easy. Statewide, 22.4% of people counted in the 2020 census are under 18.

By county, the highest percentage of children is in Scotland County, where 29.8% of the people are under 18. Hickory County has the lowest percentage, with only 16.3% under 18.

St. Louis, which has enough people for exactly eight House districts under an apportionment based on the entire population, would have 8.4 seats if only adults are included. Other large population counties that would see increased representation are St. Louis, Boone and Greene counties.

The Kansas City metropolitan area would lose representation if children are excluded.

[Diahon]

remove the republican party from power NOW

[Dresderstan]

remove the republican party from power NOW

And how do you propose we do that, cuz clearly voting isn't gonna do it.

[Libertarians]

Missouri lawmakers considering using only the citizen voting age population for redistricting

That’s going to be popular with voters if they ever hear about it because most would assume that’s how it already works. Easy on this one to push the issue to the absurd to see that it it is logical, if you had only one citizen living in a district with 500,000 non-citizens that one citizens vote would be weighted 500,000x a citizen in an area with no non-citizens. Flys in the face of election fairness and one man one vote.

[CoraSpia]

Heard Virginia had a good result last night. Any news from NJ?

[Cannot think of a name]

Are people blaming progressives yet

from NSG to the halls of power

from a reporter at politico

Why would they keep chasing a fickle voter block who doesn't show up even when they have the options on the table? Total waste of time for them to alienate a reliable voter base chasing a group that thinks sitting on their hands is a political virtue. Hell, I'm in that category, they managed to get me to vote Democrat exactly once...why the fuck should they care about what I say when they can court a group that will give their candidates some of their NPR money and reliably show up as long as the policy doesn't scare them too much?

If this snitty progressive block was as powerful and big as they imagined they could be coalescing around a third party option or elect local party officials working their way up to shape the party and actually become a block worth courting But they'd rather complain on the internet and spout privileged bullshit like abandoning any progress no matter how small to spite literally just themselves but prevent any relief coming to vulnerable people at all and get smug when someone who will work actively against them gets in office like that's accomplishing their goals somehow.

The progressives are at fault because they refuse to exert their power and when they do they don't have the balls to push it to the finish line, instead taking the first setback they can find to justify doomposting. They squandered the change in national conversation that came with Occupy, they squandered the movement from last year. Meanwhile the moderates remain reliable as the sunrise.

If two senators is enough to make you want to take your ball and go home, you're not worth courting. Every election night it's the same shit, people falling all over themselves to put on their "End is Nigh" sandwich boards and wonder why they didn't court the voters who spent the campaign throwing venom and insisting that voting for them is a waste of time.

People need to stop treating their vote like a wish and remember that collect action gets the goods.

Oh no, you misunderstand me my wounded little friend.

I'm not blaming Demcoratic loses on progressives. I could give a shit, the number of factors that go into an individual campaign's loss are too complex for me to speculate from my living room. I'm blaming progressive losses on progressives because they're more enamored with posturing on the internet and seeing how finely they can slice the ideological pie than they are getting anything done. Almost as if success scares them and they'd rather continue to bemoan a world that won't just give them what they want.

Come up with a new hyphenate to describe a niche political idea, that seems to be working great for you lot.

[Page]

What a sad off-season gubernatorial election. RIP voting rights, trans kids, reasonably drawn districts, and labor unions.

[Kilobugya]

What a sad off-season gubernatorial election. RIP voting rights, trans kids, reasonably drawn districts, and labor unions.

But... but... but... CRT ! Who cares about democracy and voting rights and viable environment and non crumbling infrastructure and labor unions and rule of law and healthcare and... when there is such a terrible threat looming ! It's so terrible we don't even know what it is exactly, just that it's there, maybe, perhaps, in our schools, I don't know, they said so !

[Heloin]

If there’s every been a party more determined to squander every single opportunity it has the democrats probably come in first place.

[Greater Miami Shores 3]

Heard Virginia had a good result last night. Any news from NJ?

Yes, it appears Virginia had a good Republican election result last night, but all the votes are not officially counted yet, lets hope it holds. The Democrat candidate for Governor refuses to concede. My fellow Cuban American, Republican, Jason Miyares, appears to have won as Attorney General.

It is very close in New Jersey. I am following the New Jersey election results on Real Clear Politics and The Hill, I like the Hill's format the best.

1 173 558 - 49.65 % - Republican - Jack Ciattarelli
1 172 365 - 49.60 % - Democrat - Philip Murphy

Republican, Jack Ciatarelli by 1,193 votes, with 97.51 % of the Precincts Reporting | 88% expected vote - According to this source.

1 173 558 - 49.65 3983 6308 6172 % - Republican - Jack Ciattarelli
1 172 365 - 49.60 3507 0438 7444 % - Democrat - Philip Murphy
0 007 278 - 00.30 7936 7980 6657 32 % - Independent- Madelyn Hoffman
0 006 872 - 00.29 07586 8044 9779 % - Independent - Gregg Mele
0 003 399 - 00.14 3813 8467 4749 69 % - Independent - Joanne Kuniansky
2 363 472-

According to my calculator, every number counts. I love math, accounting, bookkeeping and statistics, I love doing this kind of stuff, it's in my blood.

Here are the Links:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... ernor?rl=1

https://results.elections.virginia.gov/ ... ewide.html

[San Lumen]

What a sad off-season gubernatorial election. RIP voting rights, trans kids, reasonably drawn districts, and labor unions.

It was nice having a Republic. Shame we couldn’t keep it. The polling industry is clearly worthless. 2022 will be a disaster. No point even bothering to work on a campaign.

[San Lumen]

remove the republican party from power NOW

And how do you propose we do that, cuz clearly voting isn't gonna do it.

Democrats should refuse to recognize Republican victories and not certify them.

[Kerwa]

A large tax on private jets (per use) is a good idea.