This chart shows total numbers of Democrats and Republicans in state legislatures over time. We've got a situation here, folks.
(I hope this does not violate copyright. If so, I'll remove it.)
It's bad. I mean, we knew it was bad, but the graphic brings home just how much we've lost. From the late 50's - late 70's Dems had a 3-to-2 or even 2-1 advantage in state legislatures. Since then we've fallen steadily, to the point where we are behind, and not by a little. Thirty-five years of losing ground to the freak show that is today's GOP. The entire adult life - or more - of most Americans.
It comes from this article: Has Obama elected more Republicans than any human being in history? Kind of.
Yes, it's a dopey title. The problem is much bigger than Obama. Forget the title and focus on the facts. Why is this happening? This is terrible - we need our party to become functional again.
If you missed it, check out Chris Reeves' excellent diary and comments from yesterday. It was about how we got here and how we get out of this mess.
One suggestion - it would great if one of the dkos front-pagers could do a weekly "round-up" of diaries about local issues, local party-building, etc. (Like Meteor Blades with green diaries.) This could encourage more people to write diaries on the subject and, ultimately, more people to get involved in local politics, which is where we're losing.