Election, NADA - New American Dark Ages

Gerrymandering Rigged the 2014 Elections for GOP Advantage

Just as your freedom of speech is proportional to your bankroll, your vote counts as much as the party in power says. One person, one vote – not so much. And they bray endlessly about voter fraud.

Gerrymandering Rigged the 2014 Elections for GOP Advantage | BillMoyers.com

In 2012, the first congressional election after the last round of gerrymandering, Democratic House candidates won 50.59 percent of the vote — or 1.37 million more votes than Republican candidates — yet secured only 201 seats in Congress, compared to 234 seats for Republicans. The House of Representatives, the “people’s house,” no longer requires the most votes for power.

As the results from this year roll in, we see a similar dynamic. Republican gerrymandering means Democratic voters are packed tightly into single districts, while Republicans are spread out in such a way to translate into the most congressional seats for the GOP.

There are a lot of structural issues that influence congressional elections, from voter ID requirements to early voting access. But what does it matter if you’ve been packed into a district in which your vote can’t change the composition of Congress.

Gerrymandering Rigged the 2014 Elections for GOP Advantage | BillMoyers.com

Corporate Triumphs, Progressive Victories and the Roadmap for a Democratic Revival | BillMoyers.com

After the 2010 Census, Republicans succeeded in redrawing House districts to favor their party, creating increasingly “safe” districts for GOP candidates. The GOP’s control of the majority of state legislatures and governors’s offices gave them an advantage that made it possible to redraw the districts to their liking. In 2012, Democrats won 1.3 million more votes than Republican in all 435 House race – 59.6 million and 58.2 million. In other words, Democrats won 55 percent of the two-party vote but GOP candidates won 54 percent of the 435 House seats. In Pennsylvania, for example, Democrats won 83,000 more votes than Republicans, but Republicans won 13 seats and Democrats won 5 seats. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Republicans increased their margin to 14 seats. Nationwide, the GOP widened their congressional majority to by at least another 8 seats to 243. This was more a reflection of partisan mapmaking than voter preferences.

Corporate Triumphs, Progressive Victories and the Roadmap for a Democratic Revival | BillMoyers.com

Election, NADA - New American Dark Ages

2016 campaign commercials are already in the can.

“In 2014, you elected us to bring change to Washington. For the past two years, Republicans have endeavored to move the nation forward but have been stymied by an obstructionist in the White House. We need a Republican President to complete the work of the nation.”

If anything gets past Obama’s veto, it will be an unlikely compromise that Republicans will take 100% of the credit for. Mitch McConnell wrote this game plan years ago.

We need to keep recording and replaying the words of Republicans when they let their masks slip, as Allen Weh did when he spoke of lowering the minimum wage. “So what?,” he intoned with such disdain his voice finally matched his mean ugly mug. That was a perfect echo of Romney’s disdain for the 47% (really, the 99%). These are the scoundrels, the old, rich, white men who aren’t going to let go of power until we tear it from their cold dead fingers. So be it. (Not a call to violence but a play on one of their many bullshit phrases we’ve all memorized through endless replay.) Record every word. Replay them every chance. Bring truth to corrupt, self-serving power. REAL truth, not Fox ‘truth’. They will stumble; the mask will slip again.

Election

Let the rabid dogs enjoy their bones

I like to remember Karl der Grosse, the “architect of victory” as DUHbya so wisely named him. Rove declared a generation of Republican rule in 2004 (the beginning of the Thousand Year Right). How’d that work out? Now the architect of victory is a peer of Saruh Palin, et nauseum (sic). Enjoy the sweet taste of victory while you can. The pendulum swings and cuts both ways.

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Race Calls – Associated Press Interactive (every state)

Election

Disheartened Dems should read this whole column

There’s only one poll that counts: Election Day. It’s not over until then. VOTE. Call your friends. Don’t give this election away.

The secrets behind the midterms – The Washington Post By E.J. Dionne Jr.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 15 to 20 found that Democrats had a 21-point advantage among registered voters as the party “more concerned about needs of people like me,” up from a lead of only 11 points in October 2010. Voters picked Republicans over Democrats as the party “more influenced by special interests” by 46 percent to 32 percent, a 14-point Republican deficit, up from an 8-point deficit four years ago. And on a new measure, voters declared the Republican Party “more extreme in its positions” by 52 percent to 36 percent. …

Many Democrats quietly concede that the Senate playing field still tilts the Republicans’ way. If Democrats upset expectations, these underappreciated factors will be the reason. If the Republicans prevail, the fact that the election has been so closely fought points to problems that even a victorious GOP will have to confront.

The secrets behind the midterms – The Washington Post

abqjournal, Election

“Don’t bother to vote,” declares the Albuquerque Journal at the top of A1

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It’s hardly news that Democrats all over the country will experience setbacks in November. It has been widely reported for months now — it’s a done deal, right? Don’t expect the Journal to tell you something you don’t already know, like how a state that has a majority of Democrats elects Republicans to top posts. (OK, we do already know that answer: discouraged voters. What role does declaring the winners before the election have on the outcome?)

Election

Abq Journal fails to note that Martinez fundraiser is a marijuana businessman

Romney and Martinez appeared at a fundraiser hosted by a drug dealer, I mean marijuana merchant. She calls decriminalization a “horrible, horrible idea,” but pockets profits from same, but the Journal makes sure you don’t hear that from them.

Romney campaigns for Martinez | Albuquerque Journal News

By James Monteleone / Journal Staff Writer PUBLISHED: Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 3:08 pm

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president in 2012, rallied support for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez in Albuquerque today.

Romney drew a crowd of more than 200 outside Martinez’s campaign headquarters in Albuquerque, where Romney praised Martinez’s record of accomplishment as a model for the nation and urged supporters to vote early.

Romney campaigns for Martinez | Albuquerque Journal News

Note that the average stoplight in Abq accumulates a crowd of 200.

Susana Martinez to attend fundraiser hosted by aspiring marijuana businessman

Pot Politics

Susana Martinez to attend fundraiser hosted by aspiring marijuana businessman

October 21, 2014, 6:00 pm By Joey Peters

Susana Martinez has been unabashed about her opposition to loosening marijuana laws since stepping into the governor’s office nearly four years ago.

She underlined that stance in Sunday’s debate with Democratic Party challenger Gary King, voicing her opposition to both legalizing recreational pot as well as decriminalizing possession of small amounts of it. There, she stated that the judicial system never throws people in prison for only small marijuana charges.

It wasn’t unlike her comments on the subject throughout the past weeks on the campaign trial, where she reportedly dismissed decriminalization as a “horrible, horrible idea.”

“When you start having young people have access to that marijuana as easily as they do other things, it really does impact them,” Martinez told KOAT-TV earlier this month. 

Yet the stance apparently isn’t enough to stop candidate Martinez from taking money from a New Mexico businessman who is planning to start a recreational and medical marijuana dispensary in Colorado, which legalized recreational cannabis two years ago. 

Charles “Randy” Briggs is planning to host Martinez at a $2,600-a-plate fundraiser at his home this Thursday, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Briggs, a Carlsbad native and ophthalmologist, is also listed as the business agent for Grandote Green LLC. The company applied for a commercial development license earlier this year to start a “marijuana medical and retail” business in La Veta, a tiny town of 800 in the south central region of Colorado. 

Since May, Martinez’ campaign has also pocketed at least $10,000 from a Charles R Briggs Trust, according to campaign finance reports. 

Briggs’ fundraiser this week will reportedly also feature former Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.

Susana Martinez to attend fundraiser hosted by aspiring marijuana businessman

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." — Sam Adams