Please note this diary was written at 12:00 PST. It was scheduled for early morning publication. Some data in it might be outdated.
@daveweigel on twitter
Gerrymandering, lesson one: PA goes 52-47 for Obama, elects a 13-5 GOP House delegation.
This means only one thing
we have 8 years left to run local campaigns to reclaim the state senate and house chambers that are left. We're going to have to start at the local level. City councils... etc
Dailykos needs a major campaign. We need to get kossacks to run on an unmitigated reform oriented platform... Anyone who does this from this Site who is a long term supporter i'm willing to volunteer for and donate to!
The GOP unfortunately controlled this shit on lockdown in 2010 and were able to retain the house tonight ENTIRELY because Local Dems have been ignored, gotten lazy, or I don't know. no one cares about local issues unfortunately or even know enough about them. The gerrymandering claims would fall on deaf ears with the SCOTUS we had as well.
I'm in oregon here myself. I'm not sure how the state house and senate look but I know one thing. We can sit on our asses and bitch about gerrymandering (and it would all be valid) or get off our asses and run for office. We have 8 years to do this and it's of PARAMOUNT importance.
Tonight showed us Citizens united is not all powerful. It showed us people power can drown out the noise of Corporate tyranny. With upset victories all about and a senate that looked like it was totally going to fall into the hands of corporate interest... Todd akin lost, Richard lugar's LONG time seat went up in smoke and bachmann herself as of this diary is in a very uncertain situation that is almost certainly leading to a recall fight.
That Bachmann is in this fight is because we won in minnesota. But in PA? the republicans won. If anything carries home the HOPE and promise like tonight... tonight was a watershed election that will mean control of the supreme court and has demostrated that 4 years has significantly shifted the demographics in this country. Obama's stance on Latino rights has changed the whole ball game and his Bailout of The auto companies etc.
We lost Dennis Kucinich to this Gerrymandering. We lost a whole bunch of great people as a result.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
These maps need to be undone. I'm not suggesting WE gerrymander ourselves but that we remove the clear unchallenged bias the GOP has given itself.