Weld did one good thing by seeing to it they drew a couple at the time winnable seats.
3 huh? 46-50% for Bush? I wouldn’t think that was possible.
I’d guess the seats would be in the South Shore (Studds/Delahunt), Boston burbs including the part of the seat where Torkildsen lost in ‘96. And I guess a seat that takes parts of the current 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st districts. That one would be a beauty.
Of course with rats in charge they’ll probably make nice and sure all 9 are nice and rat. Especially The south shore seat.
Cali’s gonna drop a seat for the first time.
I think failed liberal governance is causing some residents to flee to other western states. And vote rat their of course.
If you carve out Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet (which you could connect by sea to Nantucket and Martha’s and from there to other Democrat turf) from Barnstable County and Brockton and Hull from Plymouth County, the rest of Barnstable and Plymouth yields close to a full congressional district that gave President Bush like 47% in 2004. Connecting Springfield, Northampton and Amherst to the Berkshires (and to Fitchburg and Gardner in northern Worcester County) to create an overwhelmingly Dem CD, and connecting the city of Worcester to Dem parts of Middlesex County to create another Dem CD, leaves enough GOP and marginal towns for a competitive CD along the CT border and in the western Worcester suburbs. Central Essex County and northern Middlesex County could also form a competitive CD for the GOP. Thinking it over, trying to get a fourth competitive CD out of MA would be more difficult due to the Boston suburbs voting so heavily Democrat nowadays, and I wouldn’t try it lest it makes the CD along the CT border too Democrat.
Of course, MA Democrats will have full control over redistricting (unless the GOP can win back the governorship in 2010, and even then the Democrats will have veto-proof majorities in the state leg), so don’t expect any competitive congressional districts for 2012.