Pennslvania Senate President to ignore state Supreme Court over gerrymandering

[Rasulis]

And Florida did just vote against debating guns and went to declare porn a health risk instead. GOP in a nutshell.

GOP must stand for grumpy old people.

Once they declare porn to be a health risk, what are they going to do about that? Start arresting people for watching porn? Make internet providers block porn sites? Invest billions of dollars into porn abstinence classes/education?

[Breccia]

Once they declare porn to be a health risk, what are they going to do about that? Start arresting people for watching porn?

How about arresting people for cheating on their wives with a porn star? I'm fairly sure there's a case primed and ready.

[cubby]

And Florida did just vote against debating guns and went to declare porn a health risk instead. GOP in a nutshell.

GOP must stand for grumpy old people.

I think you nailed it. If we could slide the accurate words of "evil" and "careless" I think we'd have it nailed, but let's start somewhere, eh?

edit: idiots could be added as well

[Travis B]

Once they declare porn to be a health risk, what are they going to do about that? Start arresting people for watching porn? Make internet providers block porn sites? Invest billions of dollars into porn abstinence classes/education?

If porn is outlawed, then only outlaws will have porn.

The only way to stop a bad guy with porn is a good guy with porn.

The right of the people to rub one off shall not be infringed.

[Blur4stuff]

Without gerrymandering the GOP would lose a lot of power. They depend on it since their ideas alone can't get enough voters on their side.

Would be truly amazing to see the US actually get fair voting over the next decade. Well, aside from the electoral college since that's probably not going anywhere easily.

[mvaliz]

If porn is outlawed, then only outlaws will have porn.

The only way to stop a bad guy with porn is a good guy with porn.

The right of the people to rub one off shall not be infringed.

You forgot “...from my warm, well-lubricated hands!”

[cubby]

Without gerrymandering the GOP would lose a lot of power. They depend on it since their ideas alone can't get enough voters on their side.

Would be truly amazing to see the US actually get fair voting over the next decade. Well, aside from the electoral college since that's probably not going anywhere easily.

I agree - the GOP pretty much wins because of their gerrymandering rather than just putting up good candidates with good ideas. Of course those people exist within the GOP - but they are few and far between.

And yeah - the EC isn't going anywhere - it's the ONLY way the GOP can get someone in the White House.

[SirBeef]

Without gerrymandering the GOP would lose a lot of power. They depend on it since their ideas alone can't get enough voters on their side.

Would be truly amazing to see the US actually get fair voting over the next decade. Well, aside from the electoral college since that's probably not going anywhere easily.

I was part of a study project on this in 2011 when I was taking some poli-sci classes. If district lines were drew fairly based on population instead of voting tendencies like the GOP has been illegally doing, the GOP would be struggling to hit 100 representatives every election cycle based on the info and maps we were looking at.

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I agree - the GOP pretty much wins because of their gerrymandering rather than just putting up good candidates with good ideas. Of course those people exist within the GOP - but they are few and far between.

And yeah - the EC isn't going anywhere - it's the ONLY way the GOP can get someone in the White House.

They should do away with winner take all states IMO. that way it is still more representative of the peoples votes.

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Without gerrymandering the GOP would lose a lot of power. They depend on it since their ideas alone can't get enough voters on their side.

Would be truly amazing to see the US actually get fair voting over the next decade. Well, aside from the electoral college since that's probably not going anywhere easily.

I love it how the right cries fowl over their claim of NY and Cali deciding the president, even though thy should have a bigger say considering the populations of those states, while ignoring how little states with no one living there have more of a say in deciding the president.

[mvaliz]

It's unbelievable to think it, but the GOP is so twisted in their logic they're feeding their constituents. They're deliberately leaving out facts and are literally painting this as the Democrats trying to Gerrymander Pennslvania. >_<

I'm really susrprised nobody has posted about how Dumbass Dump tweeted that as well, accusing the Dems of adjusting seats to work in their favor! >_<

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...220-story.html

Hope Republicans in the Great State of Pennsylvania challenge the new “pushed” Congressional Map, all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. Your Original was correct! Don’t let the Dems take elections away from you so that they can raise taxes & waste money!

I mean... what the shit!? o_O

[cubby]

I was part of a study project on this in 2011 when I was taking some poli-sci classes. If district lines were drew fairly based on population instead of voting tendencies like the GOP has been illegally doing, the GOP would be struggling to hit 100 representatives every election cycle based on the info and maps we were looking at.

That's very interesting. I wonder what those number would look like now.

They should do away with winner take all states IMO. that way it is still more representative of the peoples votes.

I think they should just do away with the EC altogether and - god forbid - just have people vote for who they want. Most votes win. Doesn't get any less complicated than that. The GOP just wants people to think the EC is right because they think property should vote instead of people. You should see some of the pro-EC discussions even in these forums.

I think the GOP loves the EC because it is the only way they've had someone in the white house in 40 years.

I love it how the right cries fowl over their claim of NY and Cali deciding the president, even though thy should have a bigger say considering the populations of those states, while ignoring how little states with no one living there have more of a say in deciding the president.

Agreed.

[Breccia]

No big surprise. GOP is asking the SCOTUS to intervene.

Pennsylvania Republicans are again asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a congressional map issued by the state supreme court that would likely put several Republican-held seats in play for Democrats. In an emergency application filed late Wednesday, lawmakers claimed the Pennsylvania court overstepped its authority.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that Pennsylvania's high court could move forward in redrawing the map. While the legal challenge was expected, it comes a day after the President Trump urged Republicans to appeal the new map. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last month that the previous Republican-drawn map “clearly, plainly and palpably" illegally hurts Democrats.

I'm not that convinced the SCOTUS is going to step in here.

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FiveThirtyEight has a good article about the new map. Of particular note:

Using the new map, we would expect Democrats to win 7.5 of the state’s 18 U.S. House seats over the long term,2 based on a model that assigns win probabilities to each party based only on a district’s partisanship.3 (The same model would expect 6.1 seats for Democrats and 11.9 for Republicans under the map that was enacted in 2011.)

[Xeones]

Hasn't the supreme court already effectively ruled by refusing to take this case?

I guess the GOP thinks they should get anything they want with their stolen seat?

[Xeones]

No, they refused to stop the original ruling, requiring the state congress and governor to create a new map. That was fine and appropriate for the courts. SCOTUS probably will step in since the court overstepped their powers and issued a new map, something the PA constitution doesn’t allow. But I’m aware adherence to the constitution isn’t a priority for those on the left. Could you imagine if Trump said “fuck congress and the courts, I’m doing what I want!” That’s essentially what the court of PA did. But because it favors Democrats, as usual, the left is on board. Laws are merely suggestions and tools to be used against adversaries apparently. They’re not meant to be equally applied.

You are literally saying it's fine for republicans to ignore the constitution and that a court has no authority to prevent the republicans from violating the constitution while attacking me for not following the constitution.

[Dontrike]

Trump is more popular than Obama was at this point in his presidency.

No, he really isn't. Obama at the same time during his presidency was at 49% approval, Trump is only about 40%

Gerrymandering is a problem for any side, but Reps seem to cause problems with it far more often. Frankly the whole redistricting thing is fucking stupid and needs to be tossed out as it has been nothing but problem after problem and both sides bitch about it anyways.

[Ripster42]

This is just stupidity. Factually incorrect and repeated ad nauseum by leftist who in fact, are the ones unable to win seats. 1000 seats across the country were lost under Obama, where gerrymandering isn’t a factor. The fact is, both sides do it, but if you look at the votes by state, the Republicans still win. It’s only when you try to compare total votes across the country, twhich is as applicable for determining congressional seats s the phase of the moon, that the argument even becomes accurate. And that’s largely because of the skewed voting patterns in California (which is now registering illegal aliens to vote FYI).

Source on that? Because I have one, and it says the exact opposite. 22 seats in the house. Would take the house from 238-193 to 216-215 (4 seats currently vacant). You would then need a perfect whip to actually pass gop only legislation. That's a significant loss in power.

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No, he really isn't. Obama at the same time during his presidency was at 49% approval, Trump is only about 40%

Gerrymandering is a problem for any side, but Reps seem to cause problems with it far more often. Frankly the whole redistricting thing is fucking stupid and needs to be tossed out as it has been nothing but problem after problem and both sides bitch about it anyways.

Uh, redistricting has to happen. You just want it done impartially. If no redistricting happened, only the 13 original states would have house reps. You have to redistrict because population growth isn't the same everywhere.

[Dontrike]

Uh, redistricting has to happen. You just want it done impartially. If no redistricting happened, only the 13 original states would have house reps. You have to redistrict because population growth isn't the same everywhere.

I'm saying that there could be better systems, and yes want it done impartially. At this point the whole system is so fucked that any normal person would want it fair or a better system.

[Elegiac]

And you folks wonder where the term judicial activism comes from.

Right wingers that get upset their highly unethical or undemocratic activities get knocked back by the judiciary. We're well aware.

[cubby]

Where am I saying that it’s fine for anyone to ignore the constitution?

The PA constitution gives the legislature the power to create congressional maps, with approval from the governor. That’s the constitution.

The court ruled that the legislator and previous governor used factors that are unconstitutional to create the current/previous congressional map. Sounds good, totally appropriate.

But then the courts gave them a month to draw a new map, and if they couldn’t, the court would draw a map. That’s the problem. The court lacks this authority. Nowhere does the constitution say “the courts can create a map if the legislature and governor can’t agree.” This is unconstitutional and how the GOP will get SCOTUS to look at it.

The democratic governor had no reason to work with the GOP, because the state court is skewed Democratic. And what do you know, the court split along partisan lines.

It’s be as if congress and the president couldn’t work out a budget agreement, so SCOTUS tried to create its own budget along partisan lines. Congress and the President would be right to reject it and give it no authority because the constitution clearly states the powers of the budget lie with congress, just as the PA constitution says the power to create congressional maps lies with the state legislature. And you folks wonder where the term judicial activism comes from.

Where do you see evidence that the court lacks this authority? Because both the PA Supreme Court and SCOTUS disagree with you.

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This is just stupidity. Factually incorrect and repeated ad nauseum by leftist who in fact, are the ones unable to win seats. 1000 seats across the country were lost under Obama, where gerrymandering isn’t a factor. The fact is, both sides do it, but if you look at the votes by state, the Republicans still win. It’s only when you try to compare total votes across the country, twhich is as applicable for determining congressional seats s the phase of the moon, that the argument even becomes accurate. And that’s largely because of the skewed voting patterns in California (which is now registering illegal aliens to vote FYI).

The Democratic Party is bankrupt of any new ideas and leadership. That you jokers masturbate because a city councilmen in BFE won in Trump country is laughable. PA’s 18th congressional district is having an election in March 13. Neither candidate is accused of being a oedophile (yet), so look at the result of that election (and current polling) and tell me how that bodes for Democrats.

Trump is more popular than Obama was at this point in his presidency. But you wouldn’t know that because you’re beholden to a media that is objectively over 90% antagonistic and negative. Calling people stupid and racists doesn’t work anymore. #MeToo is probably going to help prevent Democrats from winning in November. Normal people don’t buy into the identity politics/ race to victimhood that comprises the entirety of progressive politics. There is no left version of the tea party. Just idiots wearing pussy hats pretending they’re oppressed as they freely match in front of the White House.

Wow . . . I mean, holy shit batman - you got some grudge against reality? Or ANY cites to prove your point? Because ALL objective evidence coming in is showing that the GOP stole several seats from the Dems from their gerrymandering.

Do you have anything to back up your claims - or is this just conservative frothing at the mouth because a semblance of sanity and fairness have finally been forced on the PA GOP Party?

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Hasn't the supreme court already effectively ruled by refusing to take this case?

I guess the GOP thinks they should get anything they want with their stolen seat?

They have, and they did.

Agreed.

[Machismo]

This is just stupidity. Factually incorrect and repeated ad nauseum by leftist who in fact, are the ones unable to win seats. 1000 seats across the country were lost under Obama, where gerrymandering isn’t a factor. The fact is, both sides do it, but if you look at the votes by state, the Republicans still win. It’s only when you try to compare total votes across the country, twhich is as applicable for determining congressional seats s the phase of the moon, that the argument even becomes accurate. And that’s largely because of the skewed voting patterns in California (which is now registering illegal aliens to vote FYI).

The Democratic Party is bankrupt of any new ideas and leadership. That you jokers masturbate because a city councilmen in BFE won in Trump country is laughable. PA’s 18th congressional district is having an election in March 13. Neither candidate is accused of being a oedophile (yet), so look at the result of that election (and current polling) and tell me how that bodes for Democrats.

Trump is more popular than Obama was at this point in his presidency. But you wouldn’t know that because you’re beholden to a media that is objectively over 90% antagonistic and negative. Calling people stupid and racists doesn’t work anymore. #MeToo is probably going to help prevent Democrats from winning in November. Normal people don’t buy into the identity politics/ race to victimhood that comprises the entirety of progressive politics. There is no left version of the tea party. Just idiots wearing pussy hats pretending they’re oppressed as they freely match in front of the White House.

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No, they refused to stop the original ruling, requiring the state congress and governor to create a new map. That was fine and appropriate for the courts. SCOTUS probably will step in since the court overstepped their powers and issued a new map, something the PA constitution doesn’t allow. But I’m aware adherence to the constitution isn’t a priority for those on the left. Could you imagine if Trump said “fuck congress and the courts, I’m doing what I want!” That’s essentially what the court of PA did. But because it favors Democrats, as usual, the left is on board. Laws are merely suggestions and tools to be used against adversaries apparently. They’re not meant to be equally applied.

The consensus would disagree with you.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...roval-ratings/

Now, if you want to cherry pick a single poll, be my guest. I cannot stop you from being willfully ignorant.

[Xeones]

Where am I saying that it’s fine for anyone to ignore the constitution?

The PA constitution gives the legislature the power to create congressional maps, with approval from the governor. That’s the constitution.

The court ruled that the legislator and previous governor used factors that are unconstitutional to create the current/previous congressional map. Sounds good, totally appropriate.

But then the courts gave them a month to draw a new map, and if they couldn’t, the court would draw a map. That’s the problem. The court lacks this authority. Nowhere does the constitution say “the courts can create a map if the legislature and governor can’t agree.” This is unconstitutional and how the GOP will get SCOTUS to look at it.

The democratic governor had no reason to work with the GOP, because the state court is skewed Democratic. And what do you know, the court split along partisan lines.

It’s be as if congress and the president couldn’t work out a budget agreement, so SCOTUS tried to create its own budget along partisan lines. Congress and the President would be right to reject it and give it no authority because the constitution clearly states the powers of the budget lie with congress, just as the PA constitution says the power to create congressional maps lies with the state legislature. And you folks wonder where the term judicial activism comes from.

It was the gerrymandering that was unconstitutional.

The courts have a duty to protect the constitutional rights of the citizens.

We don't lose our constitutional rights just because you don't like it.

You said it yourself the ruling was that the court would make their own map if they refused. SCOTUS accepted that ruling.