If two seats are gone, it's gonna be real fun watching the State legislature figuring out how to gerrymander districts for the Dems. Maybe John Conyers will finally decide to retire. Not likely. As Detroit and Wayne county continue to drop thousands of residents want to bet that the black caucus will demand more black representation?
That means the Republicans will have to give up a seat. Gonna be a great fight.
The 2002 map was the most effective Republican redistricting in the country. This means we won't be able to hold all of our seats in 2012 if MIchigan loses one.
As I see it, the population is still there for two Wayne County-based Democrat seats, an Ann Arbor-based moonbat seat, and Sander Levin's industrial south Oakland and Macomb district. They're going to poach some downscaling suburbs from McCotter and Knollenberg who will have to move their territory further out into exurbia to stay viable.
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th districts are going to hang around based on geography and the political powers involved. Candace Miller is the incumbent in the 10th and has a lot of influence in the state and Washington, so she stays. You can't get rid of Flint and Saginaw so the 5th will endure, too.
My guess is that the 7th or the 4th district, both represented by Republicans now, will be carved up to allow for other districts to get larger.
On the plus side, if either Knollenberg (9th) or Walberg (7th) loses to a 'RAT between now and 2012, either district would jump to the front of the line for suicide.
For sure. Republicans shouldn't have to give up any seats since I'm nearly certain that the population shrinkage is from Democrat areas.