Any everyone admits that. As noted yesterday, NO REPUBLICAN testified in favor of these proposals - so even Republican office holders don't like this. So it's less about the issue of gerrymandering per se than the reason it's being pushed here.
Moreover, I think this backfires in the medium-term (i.e., 2026 elections). The push for these changes enrages Democrats & independents, plus puts a lot of new voters into Republican districts with less than 15 months before the election. It invites challengers to incumbents who didn't see an opportunity before. And as one pundit pointed out, most of these incumbents thought they wouldn't have a race, so they haven't done aggressive fund racing. So they are caught off guard.
The maps also use 2020 census figures which - in rapidly growing areas like Texas - can be wildly off in 6 years. Moreover, they assume that the voting patters of the 2024 election will hold in 2026 and beyond. I don't think so. The ugly aggressive immigration tactics being used by the Trump administration, the state of the economy, and the Epstein scandal are too potent of issues to ignore - that and the impact of the tariffs and failure to increase affordability - not going to play well for Republicans. Plus forcing older incumbents like Lloyd Doggett out of the equation actually helps energize the younger voters.
And if the plan goes through, that means I get to campaign for someone to oust Chip Roy! How about taking another crack at it Joseph? (Don't know which district you land in under the new maps.)
The problem with this analysis is it leaves out the people who can vote, but do not. They are mostly not highly ideological. Kopser thinks there is only one kind of moderate: someone who has an explicit taste for deal-making between elected representatives of both parties. There is another kind: people who don’t feel particularly motivated by the stated aims or record of either party. They do not fetishize deals like Kopser, a businessman and owner, does. The Center for Working Class Politics is focused on the group Kopser ignores. https://images.jacobinmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20091032/CWCP-Jacobin-report-20250721.pdf
I was at the meeting that State Rep. Erin Zweiner called yesterday in San Marcos to discuss the gerrymandering & its impact on Hays County. With less than 24 hours notice, the hall was packed. (I was stunned by the turnout.) Passionate interest in the impact on Hays County and Texans generally.
In my comments, I suggested that the most effective strategy for moving forward is to do as I'm doing, i.e., document price increases (as I assume that the state of the economy - especially as affected by Trump/Republican policies, will be a top issue, if not the top issue, in the coming elections).
By way of background, on May 3, I purchased a toner cartridge for my HP laser printer for $121.89. When I sought to replace that cartridge 3 months later (i.e., yesterday August 2), the price had jumped to $133.89 (as shown above). That's a 9.8 percent jump! As you might guess, the cartridge is manufactured in Japan and the price hike, no doubt, reflects increased tariffs.
Between now and Election Day, I will be snapping photographs periodically of prices for items I commonly purchase. I’ll check the country of origin (which then may be matched easily to tariff changes). I encourage others to do the same so that we have dated evidence of changes in the state of the economy over the coming 15 months.
If we can't fix affordability in this country, we can't fix anything. (P.S. I've started a new series on my Substack, "News to Know: The Economy & Government Finances" that will be focusing on pocket book issues, e.g., utility cost increases. I invite everyone to subscribe.)
Just remember the billionaire donors only want to fix “affordability” if they can keep bleeding everyone else dry in their little sector. There is no “we” in the Democratic Party. The fight against the donors in primaries is essential to any party-wide messaging falling into place.
fine - but fight the TX bullshit with aggressive gerrymandering in CA and NY - can't let Repulsicans control the House in 2926
Long term further gerrymandering takes all of us in the wrong direction.
Any everyone admits that. As noted yesterday, NO REPUBLICAN testified in favor of these proposals - so even Republican office holders don't like this. So it's less about the issue of gerrymandering per se than the reason it's being pushed here.
Moreover, I think this backfires in the medium-term (i.e., 2026 elections). The push for these changes enrages Democrats & independents, plus puts a lot of new voters into Republican districts with less than 15 months before the election. It invites challengers to incumbents who didn't see an opportunity before. And as one pundit pointed out, most of these incumbents thought they wouldn't have a race, so they haven't done aggressive fund racing. So they are caught off guard.
The maps also use 2020 census figures which - in rapidly growing areas like Texas - can be wildly off in 6 years. Moreover, they assume that the voting patters of the 2024 election will hold in 2026 and beyond. I don't think so. The ugly aggressive immigration tactics being used by the Trump administration, the state of the economy, and the Epstein scandal are too potent of issues to ignore - that and the impact of the tariffs and failure to increase affordability - not going to play well for Republicans. Plus forcing older incumbents like Lloyd Doggett out of the equation actually helps energize the younger voters.
And if the plan goes through, that means I get to campaign for someone to oust Chip Roy! How about taking another crack at it Joseph? (Don't know which district you land in under the new maps.)
no question - but we're in a 5-alarm fire right now, so i don't give a shit about the long term at the moment
or 2026 ;-)
The problem with this analysis is it leaves out the people who can vote, but do not. They are mostly not highly ideological. Kopser thinks there is only one kind of moderate: someone who has an explicit taste for deal-making between elected representatives of both parties. There is another kind: people who don’t feel particularly motivated by the stated aims or record of either party. They do not fetishize deals like Kopser, a businessman and owner, does. The Center for Working Class Politics is focused on the group Kopser ignores. https://images.jacobinmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20091032/CWCP-Jacobin-report-20250721.pdf
I was at the meeting that State Rep. Erin Zweiner called yesterday in San Marcos to discuss the gerrymandering & its impact on Hays County. With less than 24 hours notice, the hall was packed. (I was stunned by the turnout.) Passionate interest in the impact on Hays County and Texans generally.
In my comments, I suggested that the most effective strategy for moving forward is to do as I'm doing, i.e., document price increases (as I assume that the state of the economy - especially as affected by Trump/Republican policies, will be a top issue, if not the top issue, in the coming elections).
By way of background, on May 3, I purchased a toner cartridge for my HP laser printer for $121.89. When I sought to replace that cartridge 3 months later (i.e., yesterday August 2), the price had jumped to $133.89 (as shown above). That's a 9.8 percent jump! As you might guess, the cartridge is manufactured in Japan and the price hike, no doubt, reflects increased tariffs.
Between now and Election Day, I will be snapping photographs periodically of prices for items I commonly purchase. I’ll check the country of origin (which then may be matched easily to tariff changes). I encourage others to do the same so that we have dated evidence of changes in the state of the economy over the coming 15 months.
If we can't fix affordability in this country, we can't fix anything. (P.S. I've started a new series on my Substack, "News to Know: The Economy & Government Finances" that will be focusing on pocket book issues, e.g., utility cost increases. I invite everyone to subscribe.)
Just remember the billionaire donors only want to fix “affordability” if they can keep bleeding everyone else dry in their little sector. There is no “we” in the Democratic Party. The fight against the donors in primaries is essential to any party-wide messaging falling into place.