dagblog - Comments for "Redistricting: The Fight for the States"

Thx OGD & Joseph

Michael Wolraich — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 18:20:54 +0000

In reply to The lowdown of what's

Thx OGD & Joseph

Something we can do. And

Flavius — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 05:16:32 +0000

In reply to Thank you... Joseph... ~OGD~

Something we can do. And should.

Thanks to you and Joseph.

I wonder if we could keep an "honor role" here in Dagblog keeping track of democratic congressmen whom one of us has contacted and the district on which he should operate. I assume that that would not in any way create a problem for the site but if so I'm sure one of the high command will tell us to desist.

Since the process will isolate districts where there isn't a dem incumbent per se we can try to motivate maybe we can discuss a sensible Plan B: the State Chairman? A dem mayor? The dog catcher?

I'll comment further after playing with Joseph's material.

Good work!

Thank you... Joseph... ~OGD~

oldenGoldenDecoy — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:25:11 +0000

In reply to The link below opens a Google

Thank you... Joseph...

~OGD~

The link below opens a Google

Joseph — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 17:51:29 +0000

In reply to Redistricting: The Fight for the States

The link below opens a Google + GIS map that displays all the congressional districts.

https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?t=h&congress=all

Seats held by republicans are red and those held by democrats are blue. If you zoom in on the map then the solid colors disappear and the district lines are very easy to see.

If you zoom in and pan around then it is very easy to find districts with weird shapes which indicate that the district lines were likely gerrymandered in order to make a ‘safe’ seat for one party or the other.

If you click a district then you will get a popup with useful information. When you close the popup you will see that the district you clicked has been highlighted.

The map is displayed by Gmap4 which is an enhanced Google map viewer I developed. As part of producing this map I added the ‘congress’ parameter to the list of link parameters that Gmap4 understands. The congress parameter can be used to highlight any district when the map opens. For example, the following map highlights the 6th congressional district in Pennsylvania.

https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=40.195183,-75.883728&z=9&t=h&congress=all,PA,6

*Anyone* (no tech savvy required!) can easily make their own custom Gmap4 link that highlights any district when the map opens.

Here is how anyone can use this map to put their representative on the spot.
1. Show them a Gmap4 map with a gerrymandered district highlighted.
2. Ask if they believe that gerrymandered districts are a good thing.
3. When they say “no”, then ask if they will sign House bill 1102 as a co-sponsor.

House bill 1102 would require all states to establish an independent commission that would establish the congressional district boundaries.

To learn more about how to get the most out of the map, including additional example map links, please click “MapTips” in the upper left corner.

The lowdown of what's

oldenGoldenDecoy — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 15:53:52 +0000

In reply to Redistricting: The Fight for the States

The lowdown of what's happenin' . . .

February 22, 2017 | The Hill

Democrats face fierce urgency of 2018

Near a nadir of political power, Democrats across the country say their comeback must begin with key races next year — and warn that failure to make big gains in state races in 2018 will doom them to another decade in the minority in Washington.

--snip--

Democratic governors and groups that support state legislative candidates are sounding the alarm, warning party donors and operatives that their opportunities to win back seats at the redistricting table are growing short.

--snip--

Former Attorney General Eric Holder has organized the National Democratic Redistricting Committee with the backing of former President Obama and headed by Pelosi lieutenant Kelly Ward, who helmed the House Democratic campaign arm in 2016. The Democratic Governors Association has commissioned former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) to raise awareness among top donors and to study election results from recent years to identify future opportunities.

It's going to be a long slog--but some has to do it.

~OGD~