Pro-Marriage Equality Candidates

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Saturday May 12, 2012 · 11:45 PM PDT

2012/05/12 · 23:45

In the wake of President Obama's momentous announcement supporting marriage equality this past Wednesday, more and more Democrats have began clarifying their positions on this issue and unequivocally voicing their support for marriage equality. I have decided to compile a list of the non-incumbent Democratic candidates (and Angus King) running for the House and Senate who are known to support marriage equality. Some candidates have been known to support it for quite some time - be it through statements and interviews they have made and/or votes they have taken, while others have just recently made their pro-equality position known. I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised at some of the names here, given the difficult and uphill races that some of them are facing, or the moderate-to-conservative profile/image they have cultivated in regards to this and other issues. How this will affect their electoral chances is another subject for another diary.

This is a running list. If omissions, corrections, or additions need to be made, please let me know. I will update it as often as possible. All names will remain listed pending the completion of each particular state's primary. Again, with the exception of Angus King, this is a list of non-incumbent Democrats only.

BluntDiplomat

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Friday December 23, 2011 · 12:35 PM PST

2011/12/23 · 12:35

The recent ProPublica article entitled "How Democrats Fooled California’s Redistricting Commission" has really got my blood boiling. Echoing John Burton's response (give or take a few expletives), I have a few thoughts of my own regarding this incendiary and sensationalist drivel of an article that seems to have been written (and I use the term loosely) by people unfamiliar with California and California politics and has has more logical and factual holes in it than one of Michele Bachmann's speeches.

BluntDiplomat

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Monday June 20, 2011 · 8:15 PM PDT

2011/06/20 · 20:15

To commemorate redistricting, I decided to crank out my calculator and see what each state and territory's House delegation size would be if the Wyoming Rule or the ratio being used for the New Hampshire House of Representatives (which I'll heretofore refer to as the NH Rule) were used for reapportionment. I used 2010 Census figures for all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, while I used 2011 CIA estimates for the four other outlying territories.

Seeing as how the WY and NH rules might result in a House of Representatives with a membership larger than the 435 limit it has now, I did not even bother working with a fixed limit. It's just apportionment by strict division, and I rounded up to the nearest whole number whenever applicable.

WY Rule: State Population ÷ 563,626 (WY's population per the 2010 Census)
NH Rule: State Population ÷ 3,300 (the average # of people that each NH state rep represents)

Suffice it to say, we're going to need a bigger Capitol.

BluntDiplomat

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Tuesday June 14, 2011 · 6:05 PM PDT

2011/06/14 · 18:05

Although Republicans control Ohio redistricting, I cannot help but play around with Ohio and produce a new 16-district map of my own. My goal was pure and simple: to keep Dennis Kucinich out of Washington state. The result? Very interesting mashups and combinations.

Given Ohio's tossup tendencies, these numbers in the delegation have the potential to swing back and forth dramatically depending on the cycle. Another thing that struck me is the distribution of incumbents: my map produced large sprawling districts in Central Ohio that turned out to house no incumbents at all.

On a very good year: 10-6, 11-5, or 12-4 D
On a normal good year: 9-7 D or 8-8 tie
On bad year: 9-7 R
On an exquisitely bad year: 10-6 or 11-5 R

BluntDiplomat

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Thursday June 09, 2011 · 6:45 PM PDT

2011/06/09 · 18:45

Although Nevada is awash in proposed maps and veto stamps, I decided to have some fun with my former home state and take stab at redrawing the lines without having seen any of what the legislature has proposed.

Here it goes:

In terms of population - the numbers are fairly distributed, with the population deviating at no more or less than 6 people amongst the four districts. Using 2008 presidential election numbers, ALL four redrawn districts were won by President Obama, with winning percentages ranging between a plurality of 49% to an outright 61% majority. At best (and completely within the realm of possibility), the Democrats can capture all four seats. Under normal or midterm circumstances, the numbers might be 3-1 Democratic or an even 2-2 split in the delegation. Maybe the courts will produce a map like this?

BluntDiplomat

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Tuesday June 07, 2011 · 1:20 AM PDT

2011/06/07 · 01:20

So I finally took the plunge and decided to try Dave's Redistricting App (2.2!) this past weekend. Seeing as how my Facebook is flooded with updates from the Wisconsin recall attempts, I decided that the Badger State was the most appropriate place for my inaugural stab at the application. On a related note, this is also my first diary entry, so pardon my April Ludgate-esque excitement.

Chief Disclaimer:
I am not from Wisconsin, so I am basing my lines on just the map and 2008 election results alone. Although I'm attuned to some of the geopolitical dynamics of the state and how it translates electorally (aka the yin and yang that is Waukesha and Dane), I apologize in advance if this proposal is not compact or inadvertently cracks inseparable counties and communities of interest.

Overview:
At best, it's 8-0 or 7-1 Democratic, at the very worst, 4-4. I tried to create a competitive map that gives an edge to the Democrats without creating too overly distended districts. My objectives are threefold:
1) Shore up ancestrally/traditionally Democratic districts.
2) Maintain Democratic strongholds but try not to pack them with too many Democrats in one district creating a vote sink at the expense of viable takeover or strengthening opportunities elsewhere.
3) Weaken current Republican districts by having them go into new areas and diluting their current bases of power and strength.

RSS

Pro-Marriage Equality Candidates

Don't Hate the Player or the Game - Hate Yourself: ProPublica's Hit Job on CA Redistricting

WY Rule versus NH Rule

Buckeye Bull's Eye: OH Redistricting

Silver State Shuffle: NV Redistricting

My Wisconsin Gerrymander