Free Republic
Browse · Search
GOP Club
Topics · Post Article

To: fieldmarshaldj
Once these districts start moving off in that direction, there is no earthly way the GOP can compete, and they can’t move left enough to accommodate the diseased mindset of these areas. Fact is, there’s something seriously wrong with the people that live in these places.

Not really, it's more because of gerrymandering. Throughout California and even in Berkeley, Democrat representatives are way, way to the left of the average voter in their districts (and the Republicans way, way to the right - thus the existence of a Duncan Hunter) but they stay in office because the boundaries as drawn virtually guarantee a party victory and a perpetual Democrat majority. It takes an awful lot of radicalism or malfeasance in office to get a politically disinterested moderate to stop voting their traditional party allegiance in the voting booth: "Oh, yeah, I remember Barbara Boxer...she cares about the environment. Check."

Redraw the districts in a more natural manner and there would be a lot more close races.

11 posted on 04/21/2008 4:29:18 PM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("Wise men don't need to debate; men who need to debate are not wise." -- Tao Te Ching)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies ]


To: Mr. Jeeves

Gerrymandering can only go so far. If your overall vote is running anywhere from 75% to 85% for the bad guys, you’re not going to get a competitive district out of it. Take a look at another example of a moonbat state, Massachusetts. Of the 10-member House delegation, we couldn’t gerrymander for ourselves a single Republican seat. At best, we might be able to get one in which we have a 40%+ shot at winning, but no better. San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Alameda, most of Contra Costra — they’re virtually all out of reach now.

Remember, too, that the post-2002 Congressional lines in CA are effectively little changed from the post-1992 lines, essentially incumbent protection, which were favorable to the GOP (and at one point, we had a tied delegation in 1995 following Tom Campbell’s special election victory, 26 seats each). Aside from a couple seats, virtually all the counties that vote majority GOP do have GOP Congressmembers.


12 posted on 04/21/2008 4:45:56 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~~~***Just say NO to the "O"***~~~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
GOP Club
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson