GOP Brags About Gerrymandering Its Way to the House Majority

A Republican memo lays out the winning game plan

The GOP is outright boasting about how redistricting gave the party its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A recent memo by the Republican State Leadership Committee called "How a Strategy of Targeting State Legislative Races in 2010 Led to a Republican U.S. House Majority in 2013," said the GOP spent more than $30 million in 2009-2010 to help win key statehouse victories. This gave Republicans control of redrawing legislative districts in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin that led to the House GOP holding on to its majority in the 2012 elections.

"The rationale was straightforward," the memo said. "Controlling the redistricting process in these states would have the greatest impact on determining how both state legislative and congressional district boundaries would be drawn. Drawing new district lines in states with the most redistricting activity presented the opportunity to solidify conservative policymaking at the state level and maintain a Republican stronghold in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade."

So while Democrats won the Senate and the White House, House Republicans wound up with a 33-seat majority because of its plan known as the Redistricting Majority Project or "REDMAP." The RSLC memo says the victory occurred even though "Democratic candidates for the U.S. House won 1.1 million more votes than their Republican opponents."

Via Talking Points Memo and the Republican State Leadership Committee

Who should be in charge of redistricting?

[Real4WheelDrv]

So, I'm supposed to be bent because manipulative politicians are bragging about being manipulative politicians? In other, and oddly related news: Fiber helps with poopin'! Yawn.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

Since government is constipated, can we get a huge shipment of fiber to Washington D.C.?

[kathyparsell]

@Neo_NtheMatrix Ah...we'll probably need to raise the debt ceiling if do.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

Government is also experiencing some bloating, some $17T worth of bloat.

[kathyparsell]

@kathyparsell if we do that is. Oops

[Real4WheelDrv]

@Neo_NtheMatrix D.C. isn't that constipated, look at all the worthless *^%# that flows out of it every day. It just needs a change in diet, starting by reducing the pork.

[mtkopf]

This is something that both the repubs and dems do so for me to complain, as a recovering republican, would be hypocritical.

[PNWest]

Why does the GOP hate America? They are actually admitting that they can't win the majority of voters and instead of trying to convince people to vote for them they try anything they can to win without majorities. This is unAmerican.

[drpeeper]

@PNWest So the area gerrymandered to vote out Allen West was Un-American by Democrat Politicians. Glad you agree.

[CaryNickel]

@PNWest No, they are only undoing the liberal gerrymandering done during the Clinton years. What is really unAmerican is for Democrats to blatantly buy votes with my tax dollars, proving they cannot win without offering free goodies to a generation taught by liberal education to expect government to take care of them.

[PNWest]

@drpeeper All gerrymandering is wrong. By the way Florida has a GOP controlled house and senate does it not? That being the case if his district was gerrymandered it was the GOP that did it.

[PNWest]

@CaryNickel If this was true then the democrats who won about 1.4 million more votes than the GOP in the past election would have won the majority of the house.

[DogLady_1]

Interesting that on their website, their motto is "We fight for a fair process"... and then their banner states: "Republicans have an opportunity to create 20-25 new Republican Congressional Districts through the redistricting process over the next five election cycles, solidifying a Republican House majority."

I guess "fair" today means "what's good for the GOP power grab"

"...we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization." -Gaius Petronius Arbiter

[AceLuby]

I don't understand how gerrymandering is legal. It's a gross practice to ensure the govt is represented by people the party's choose, not who the people choose. All districts should be redrawn by population by an independent 3rd party.

[Raptor]

You got me, I thought gerrymandering was Illegal to.

[AceLuby]

@Raptor Unfortunately it's not and, surprise surprise, when one party has power they don't want to get rid of the practice because they would be giving up power. They also don't want it because then they might have actual competition to get into Congress, maybe even w/ competing ideas instead of only worrying about the primary because the other party can't possibly win given the make up of the district. It's a big reason for our polarization.

[FatherPhoenix]

@AceLuby Actually the polarization has more to do with the fact that in reality we only have one party with two sides. Despite what they say the actual differences between the two sides based on their actions is negligible. Both sides really only have one goal and that is maintaining their power.

[AceLuby]

@FatherPhoenix And in order to do so, maintain the Empire. It's gross.

[FatherPhoenix]

@AceLuby I totally agree. That is why I refuse to vote for anyone with an R or D by their name. I'd prefer to see an L but I'LLC take an I as long as they are pro freedom and anti government.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

Brags? Is that the right word? Or is that exaggeration?

[tomincali]

yep.

[Denizen_Kate]

Yes, Neo, the GOP is bragging about their success in rigging the election by redrawing districts in their favor. It is not an exaggeration. Politicians of both main parties do despicable things in order to retain power.

[PNWest]

It makes me sad.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

@PNWest - Cheer up Mr. West. Remember, life is a bowl of cherries, some bitter, some sweet. A wise old man once told me that.

[PNWest]

@Neo_NtheMatrix True, true. I will remember that. A not so wise man once told me that life was like a sh%t sandwich, the more bread you have the less sh%t you have to eat.

[Raptor]

Just shows how the republican party no longer represents freedom and democracy, only an evil form of government much like the NAZI party under Hitler!

[DogLady_1]

On their "About Us" page, it states: "The party controlling that effort controls the drawing of the maps – shaping the political landscape for the next 10 years. In 38 states, governors and state legislators play a determining role in the redistricting process." Funny, I don't recall the Constitution stating that a PARTY draws the district lines... and it also does not state that the purpose of redistricting is to make one party stronger... Freakin' partisan power-mongers! Oligarchy is alive and well in our gov't. Partisans have successfully destroyed our republican form of gov't and replaced it with statism.

[Real4WheelDrv]

Yeah, cause the other side doesn't do the same exact thing. Right. They're all politicians. That's all.

[DogLady_1]

@Real4WheelDrv - what's your point? If one party is corrupt, the other should be allowed to be corrupt also?

[Real4WheelDrv]

@DogLady_1 Essentially yes, since bashing one for doing something the other does is blatant favoritism. This do as we say not as we do crap is part of the sickness in our politics, and very few people are willing to admit when both sides do something wrong.

[DogLady_1]

@Real4WheelDrv - and when it comes to partisanship, the only people a partisan will listen to is one in their own party... and their own party members aren't chewing them out for their egregious acts, they think everyone approves... and indeed all their members are complicit if they don't call out the wrongdoers.

"One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection..." George Washington

[Grubby]

As more and more states become fully Republican in the House, Senate, and Governor's mansion, the trend will continue. Republicans now control all 3 in 30 of the states, with more likely to come. The democrats will always have California, Illinois, and a bunch of northeastern states. The rest are fair game to turn fully Red. So...even if the Democrats keep the White House forever, the country will remain largely conservative. Of course, once the Liberals run out of other people's money to spend and the country crashes around them, everyone will finally figure out that Liberalism is NOT what we want.

[PNWest]

Grubbs you probably don't realize it but this is all going to come back and bite the GOP in the @ss within the next 10 years. The demographics of the country are changing and becoming more democratic. These GOP gerrymandered districts have thinner margins and are harder to defend. The dems will be making a concerted effort at the state level to flip these states. When they do they will use as precedence the highly partisan gerrymandering that the GOP to reverse the process. Unfortunately for the GOP there is no indications that the GOP will be adding to it's base any time in the foreseeable future so whatever the dems do will be in place for a long time to come. The best results for the GOP and for the country would be if district lines were drawn impartially.

[Grubby]

@PNWest The more Liberal the country swings, the faster everything comes crashing down. I wish it did not have to come to that, but with Obama I am afraid we may have already passed the tipping point and will have to go through some very tough times as a country in the near future. If I am wrong, then the Liberals will achieve their ultimate goal of one party rule with an imperial presidency and it will last forever. Unfortunately, the history of many other countries tells us that this model does not work. Some Liberals on here defend Europe as "doing pretty well". If they believe that, they obviously have not been reading the financial news. Even while we push forward to be as much like China as we can possibly be, China is rapidly reforming and seem to be headed toward our former US economic model of capitalism, private enterprise, risk/reward for entrepreneurs, and lower taxes. And they are doing it very well. I have some first hand experience and knowledge in that regard. With 1.4B people, it will take them a while to achieve, but they will look very much like the US in 20 years. What will we look like?

[RoyFloyd]

Necessary trickery given that Republicans are on the losing end of demographic shifts with their base of old white guys passing to the great beyond. Desperation really.

[PNWest]

@Grubby "...they will look very much like the US in 20 years. What will we look like?" Well if God forbid we ever elect another moron like GW Bsuh I would guess we'll look like Haiti. If as I expect the country goes more and more liberal I think we'll see rapid advances in the standard of living.

[Grubby]

@PNWest Don't count on it. The decline in average income that has been happening will continue until we get rid of Liberal politicians. This is not because of Bush. It is because the Liberal policies are restraining us from having any kind of "normal" recovery. Obamacare will be the next "hit" on incomes, forcing many Americans into part time jobs, and costing many Americans the health care coverage that their employers would otherwise provide. Added, Obama and Pelosi "require" these folks to buy insurance - another hit, or pay more taxes (a middle and lower income tax increase). Add in the stimulus waste he will try to push through, and the increased interest payments on the debt coming very soon, and the country will be on a fast train over a cliff. Yes, I know, the Obamacare job losses are all George Bush's fault, and the tax increases are Bush's fault too...that is what you will tell me. Actually, Bush had almost nothing to do with the financial situation that caused the 2008 recession. That was a housing and finance bubble caused prinicpally by Barney Frank and the Liberal push to allow subprime (that means folks who can not afford to pay the money back) lending. "Everyone" was to be entitled to a house - isn't that the Liberal talking point? You morons keep blaming Bush who, if anything, should have done more to restrain Liberals during his administration. He let them get too far out of hand. As I said before, Liberalism will continue to drive this country into the ground until the people get a clue that the Left Wing Loony policies are to blame. With the informaiton level of most people of this country, that could take a couple more decades. Heck, the Liberals like you will still be blaming George Bush for the next 4 or 5 presidential terms...probably until you are dead. History will be the judge, and the future will wonder what morons elected a guy like Obama. Meanwhile, as our standard of living drops every year, China's is increasing about 20% per year. They are coming from a pretty low base, but compound 20% annual growth of their incomes vs. about 1 to 2 percent annual decline of ours, and see how fast they overtake us. Welcome to Liberalville.

[RobertJHarsh]

If the Dems did it, they would be bragging to. They are just as lowlife.

[DARSB]

Gerrymandering is a tried and true tactic used by both parties. But it doesn't help at all if the candidates are running on platforms the voters can't accept - see the red states that Mr Obama carried in November for examples.

[RobertJHarsh]

"State elections can have a big impact on a political party’s performance in future federal elections, not only by building a strong “bench” and strengthening party infrastructure, but also through the decennial redistricting process. As the largest caucus of Republican state-level officeholders, the RSLC understands the importance of this. "

Ohio has is "red" because the districts are set up so the state house is proportions correctly. Notice how the gimmedaters and the communists are packed into the cities while the rest of the state is red? In a national election, outside the cities don't matter but in a state situation they do matter because they get representation. They don't nationally because the president and senate are decided by the gimmedators and communists in the cities. But those "po-dunk" counties are reason why the GOP has a majority in the House. They are disregarded by the president and senate, but not in the house.

The GOP might be bragging, but understand the math and WHY the House is representative of all people. Not just gimmedators and communists like the president and senate.

[DogLady_1]

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." --James Madison

[Zazziness]

aka cheating

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

You take that back!

[PNWest]

Gerrymandering is wrong no matter who is doing it. The GOP being the shortsighted people that they are don't realize that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Everyone of the GOP districts has thinner margins of victory. The more they gerrymander the easier it is to flip the district. The changing demographics of the country means that there will be fewer and fewer republicans and more and more democrats. This means that these GOP districts are going to start falling like a house of cards by about 2020. When this happens the dems can either gerrymander in their own favor or if they are smart create the districts in a fair way. Either way the dems will win majorities and the GOP will be a minority party for years to come until the dems get too cocky and screw it up.

[jessejaymes]

I agree. Both sides do it. Letting a party in control gerrymander districts in a state is like letting a pro sports team that won the championship have the first five draft picks in the next player draft. Simply not a democracy. I oppose gerrymandering regardless of party doing it. Districts should not exist. Senators are "at large" in a state and so should House reps be. Run a laundry list election

[Dan_Tien]

It's a pity that they don't get as organized and work as hard at actually doing something worthwhile now that they have the House majority. Otherwise, they should change their name to the RepubliCAN'T Party.

[Keyjo]

The card dealer brags that the winner won because the deck was stacked! Pretty Damned low. Actually, down right corrupt.

[Bobolinsky]

Do liberals understand that the only reason there are any stories at all about gerrymandering is because reoublicans got to do it more than democrats... this time...

From the memo that Lisa seems to think is "bragging."

"The only analogous election in recent political history in which this aberration has taken place was immediately after reapportionment in 1972, when Democrats held a 50 seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives while losing the presidency and the popular congressional vote by 2.6 million votes."

[KyleMFb]

I think it's sad that a political party in america can cheat, lie and suppress voters and promote communism and get away with it all. today's Republican Party is nothing of what it use to be republicans have caused a deep recession kept us in a deep recession and are preventing any kind of real recovery. how people could vote for a repube is beyond me

[MnMking2797]

It doesn't matter because the parties can bribe the people who draw the distric lines

[Clarke12]

stories like this make me laugh - if Americans actually knew how deep the corruption in government ran they would be scared out of their minds. the exposed stuff is child's play.

[marine1]

Democrat,Republican,Snake in the grass, What's the difference?