I've said for a long time that Florida's 5th district was just plain wrong. It's clear that this specific district was drawn up by Republicans to possibly "throw a bone" so to speak to the Democrats. Anyone that looks at the map and knows anything about Florida will agree that it is tailor made for someone like Corinne Brown to easily win it. Specifically, look at how it snakes through Clay and St. John's counties. Once it reaches Duval county, again, look at the area that it covers and think about it.
Discuss what you think of the current district map and how it should be changed.
Quote:I've said for a long time that Florida's 5th district was just plain wrong. It's clear that this specific district was drawn up by Republicans to possibly "throw a bone" so to speak to the Democrats. Anyone that looks at the map and knows anything about Florida will agree that it is tailor made for someone like Corinne Brown to easily win it. Specifically, look at how it snakes through Clay and St. John's counties. Once it reaches Duval county, again, look at the area that it covers and think about it.
Discuss what you think of the current district map and how it should be changed.
I don't know about the specific one you are talking about but I did hear a high level court ruled several districts to be redrawn prior to elections due to clear gerrymandering.
district 5 is shameful, it's my district and it snakes right through my rural area of putnam county. I don't get why we don't just have districts proportional to population per county. IE Duval is a huge county they should have more states reps than me in putnam but damn let me send at least one guy that knows something about my area to Tallahassee.
Quote:I don't know about the specific one you are talking about but I did hear a high level court ruled several districts to be redrawn prior to elections due to clear gerrymandering.
Here is a link that might help you. Since you aren't from Florida, the small path that it takes in between Clay and St. John's counties follows the railroad tracks. It's a very small slice between these two counties.
District 5 crosses so many counties I'm curious to see how many other districts are effected by redrawing district 5.
Quote:Here is a link that might help you. Since you aren't from Florida, the small path that it takes in between Clay and St. John's counties follows the railroad tracks. It's a very small slice between these two counties.
I am from Florida, from Jax. Grew up off Blanding and Collins near OP. I moved to Portland about 4 years ago or so.
Gerrymandering is widespread nationwide. It needs to be reversed and stopped from happening
Quote:I am from Florida, from Jax. Grew up off Blanding and Collins near OP. I moved to Portland about 4 years ago or so.
Is it fair to assume people are upset that is gerrymandered to be democratic?
You fundamentally misunderstand what the gerrymandering does.
It is gerrymandered to allow for a lot of republican districts around it.
When you pack democratic voters into a district you take them out of other district areas allowing a situation where instead of having a bunch of 53/47 type districts where one party narrowly wins based on how centrist and populist they are, you get one district with 90% democratic to 10% republican and all the districts immediately around it are 58% republican and 42% democratic, making all of those districts safe for republicans who never have to answer to democratic constituents in the local area.
Quote:You fundamentally misunderstand what the gerrymandering does.
It is gerrymandered to allow for a lot of republican districts around it.
When you pack democratic voters into a district you take them out of other district areas allowing a situation where instead of having a bunch of 53/47 type districts where one party narrowly wins based on how centrist and populist they are, you get one district with 90% democratic to 10% republican and all the districts immediately around it are 58% republican and 42% democratic, making all of those districts safe for republicans who never have to answer to democratic constituents in the local area.
I do understand how it works. I edited my comment right before I saw yours to change the overall tone/point of my comment. This is happening all over the country and is a mockery of the democratic process.
Quote:I do understand how it works. I edited my comment right before I saw yours to change the overall tone/point of my comment. This is happening all over the country and is a mockery of the democratic process.
Quite right. Without it we don't have the bizarre goings on of congress that we currently have, and we likely have both chambers under democratic control as in 2012 democratic candidates got millions more votes collectively than republican candidates did, yet the republicans still have a narrow margin of control in the house thanks to state legislative gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering is why state and local elections are so important, and why it's a problem that many people only vote for national elections, since it's the state and local elections that determine how much control people will actually be able to assert in the national elections.
Quote:I've said for a long time that Florida's 5th district was just plain wrong. It's clear that this specific district was drawn up by Republicans to possibly "throw a bone" so to speak to the Democrats. Anyone that looks at the map and knows anything about Florida will agree that it is tailor made for someone like Corinne Brown to easily win it. Specifically, look at how it snakes through Clay and St. John's counties. Once it reaches Duval county, again, look at the area that it covers and think about it.
Discuss what you think of the current district map and how it should be changed.
No, it was drawn up by Republicans to get Democrats out of the surrounding districts and make it easier for Republicans to get elected. This is the problem with the Voting Rights Act- it gave a legal reason for gerrymandering these districts, supposedly to protect black voters, but actually protecting Republican politicians. And it's one of the main reasons our country is so polarized. All these congresspeople are in safe districts and don't have to reach across the political divide for votes.
After doing a little more reading, it's funny to find out this issue is the one I was hearing about on the radio. I assumed they were separate issues but they were one in the same.
The whole basis of gerrymandering is to create districts where its easy to get a party elected continuously. It's a bit like that game where you form squares one line at a time. Whoever gets the most districts at the end wins.
CGPGrey actually has a nice
video regarding gerrymandering, and a few other topics regarding problems in the US political system.
This is all stupid and a perfect example why government fowls everything up. Just make the districts the same as counties and make representatives proportional to population.
No instead we waste thousands of dollars on conventions to create absurd districts.
Quote:This all stupid and a perfect example why government fowls everything up. Just make the districts the same as counties and make representatives proportional to population.
No instead we was thousands of dollars on conventions to create absurd districts.
You can't because racism.
Districts are created to insure that African-Americans the opportunity to elect adequate representation. Then they turn around and elect Corrine Brown and her ilk. Just like the Democrats want them to.
Quote:You can't because racism.
Districts are created to insure that African-Americans the opportunity to elect adequate representation. Then they turn around and elect Corrine Brown and her ilk. Just like the Democrats want them to.
I imagine the big counties like duval orange and dade would have plenty of minority representation
Quote:You can't because racism.
Districts are created to insure that African-Americans the opportunity to elect adequate representation. Then they turn around and elect Corrine Brown and her ilk. Just like the Democrats want them to.
And like the Republicans want them too. If you put most of the AAs in a specific district you give "them" a representative
and you make the surrounding districts more white, thus more Republican.
Both sides win! And the party in power when the new districts are drawn win more often. Funny how that works.
Eric - you act like the Legislature is populated by political scientists who want fairness and equality! They are politicians who want to look out for themselves and their party. They want to win. That's what you're going to get when you decide to go with representative democracy.
Which is a whole lot better than turning it over to the Oracles who know what's really best for us.
Quote:This is all stupid and a perfect example why government fowls everything up. Just make the districts the same as counties and make representatives proportional to population.
No instead we waste thousands of dollars on conventions to create absurd districts.
Aren't the state governments responsible for drawing up districts?
Quote:Aren't the state governments responsible for drawing up districts?
I believe so, from what I understand they get re-drawn every 10 years, maybe it's 12. Seems so much more practical to me for them to just make the counties the state districts and make the representatives proportional to population just like each state does in the house of reps.
edit: heck if they don't want that many reps they could even combine some of the rural counties, for example Clay, Putnam and Nassau.
Quote:I believe so, from what I understand they get re-drawn every 10 years, maybe it's 12. Seems so much more practical to me for them to just make the counties the state districts and make the representatives proportional to population just like each state does in the house of reps.
edit: heck if they don't want that many reps they could even combine some of the rural counties, for example Clay, Putnam and Nassau.
It's up to state legislatures to do it.
It's every 10 years - to be in sync with census data.
It's not as easy as it looks, as numerical levels have to be met, so you have to combine areas to make the numbers come out right. Then you have to meet the racial diversity mandates. Then you have to make sure your political party (whomever has the majority at the time of redistricting) comes out ahead as best you can.
Then you have to hope it passes muster with the courts.
Try it sometime and good luck. How they did it before computers ...
As someone who lives in a thread of Corrine Brown's district that is literally 2 blocks wide, I was eager to be rid of her, but it's not looking like that's going to happen, so I will have to suffer with arguably one of the most embarrassing, corrupt human beings to ever be elected to congress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9Em00A
Maybe the Jags should hire her to do play by play. Not much worse than what we've got on radio or TV right now. Go Gata!