Last week former President Barack Obama and his first attorney general, Eric Holder, blasted gerrymandering efforts in Republican states.
Obama praised the efforts of Holder's National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) to combat gerrymandering in Alabama.
“This week’s redistricting victory in Alabama is a win for our democracy,” he tweeted. “I’m grateful to @DemRedistrict and everyone who has been fighting so hard to make sure people everywhere have an equal opportunity to choose their representatives.”
He was referring to a federal court blocking Alabama’s GOP-drawn congressional redistricting map after Holder’s group challenged it.
The following day Holder celebrated another win for his group — in yet another GOP state.
“Victory in yet another state: North Carolina,” he tweeted. “Efforts to weaken the power of the vote for select groups of people are unlawful and must not be tolerated — not on our watch. We must and will act.”
Last month Holder appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and called for "fair line drawing” of congressional districts and claimed that after the 2010 census the GOP had "gamed" the system, and he wasn’t about to let that happen this time out.
As a result of the 2020 census, the following states lost one congressional seat:
- California
- Illinois
- Michigan
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Texas gained two congressional seats. In addition, the following gained one:
- Colorado
- Florida
- Montana
- North Carolina
- Oregon
Of the seven states that lost a seat, only two — Ohio and West Virginia — are considered Republican-controlled.
Of the six states that gained seats, only two — Colorado and Oregon — are considered in Democratic control.
Given that, one would assume that the GOP will be the obvious big winner in Congressional elections for the next decade. But one would assume wrong.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report analyzed the newly drawn districts and predicted that Democrats will have a slight edge in November.
On Thursday Cook’s U.S. House elections editor, David Wasserman, gave a preview of his full report that was published the following day.
“NEW: for the first time, Dems have taken the lead on @CookPolitical's 2022 redistricting scorecard,” he tweeted. “After favorable developments in NY, AL, PA et. al., they're on track to net 2-3 seats from new maps vs. old ones.”
Holder, of course, isn’t targeting any states controlled by the Democratic Party, including Maryland, New York and Illinois.
The latest Maryland map threatens to expel the state’s lone Republican House member from office. The New York map would eliminate four GOP House members. As for Illinois, Illinois is always gonna Illinois.
On that point Wasserman reported that “There's still quite a bit of uncertainty in:
“- FL, where Rs are debating how aggressive to be
“- NC/OH, where courts may order big changes to GOP maps
“- PA, where the state Sup Ct will select a map
“- AL/LA/SC, where SCOTUS could decide on additional Black opportunity seats.”
He also cautioned that “this doesn't mean Dems are on track to gain House seats *overall* in 2022. A 2-3 seat redistricting gain is significant, but a 42% Biden approval rating could be worth several dozen seats to the GOP in November.”
And that may be the GOP’s saving grace. At this point Biden can only see a 42% approval rating in his rearview mirror.
Late last week the RealClearPolitics average of polls taken between January 19 and February 3 had his approval at 41.3%, his disapproval at 54.3%, giving a spread of negative 13.1%.
The last of the polls that made their list was Reuters, which placed Biden’s approval/disapproval at 41%/56%, giving a negative 15-point spread.
Assuming Biden’s ratings continue to tumble, that will only help the Republican Party for the next two election cycles. If the GOP wants to continue succeeding it has to get as aggressive as Democrats are at challenging redistricting maps.
The ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes once instructed, “The wise learn many things from their enemies.”
The GOP has to do more than complain and get mad; they have to get serious and get even.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.