Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 10, 2023 18:55:37 GMT -5
Any thoughts on why Rep. Gloria Johnson was not expelled along with the other 2? Amid social media commentary and reports suggesting why Rep. Gloria Johnson was not expelled while two Black representatives were expelled, Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore) said he voted not to expel Johnson because she “did not participate to the extent that Jones and Pearson did.” .... “Either Jones or Pearson smuggled a bullhorn into the chamber. The two used that bullhorn to shout and scream and incite the crowd to chant “no action, no peace”. The video showed Johnson did not appear to do anything other than stand near the Well and mover her lips,” he said in the statement. link He says either Jones or Pearson smuggled a bullhorn into the chamber….. if he doesn’t know for sure which one of them did it, how does he know it wasn’t Johnson that “smuggled” the bullhorn inside and gave it to them to use? Serious question, I’m not asking just for the sake of arguing.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 10, 2023 23:05:48 GMT -5
A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkResearch assessed democracy in every state. Tennessee came in last place. After his expulsion Thursday from the Tennessee House in response to a peaceful protest for gun control, state Rep. Justin Jones — one of two Black Democratic legislators expelled by the Republican-controlled statehouse — said that “what the nation is seeing is that we don’t have a democracy in Tennessee.” Chillingly, data offers some support for Jones’s contention. According to one scholar’s research on democracy in the US, Tennessee is indeed the least democratic state in the entire country. The research here comes from University of Washington political science professor Jake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper (later expanded into a book) developing the first-ever numerical system for ranking the health of democracy in all 50 US states. Grumbach’s State Democracy Index (SDI) grades each state on a series of metrics — like the extent to which a state is gerrymandered at the federal level, whether felons can vote, and the like — and then combines the assessments to give each state an overall score from -3 (worst) to 2 (best). The following maps, taken from his paper, shows each state’s grade on the SDI in 2000 and in 2018. You’ll see that Tennessee is by far the lightest-colored state on the 2018 map — meaning it has the lowest score of any state in the country: Rest of article here: A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkJake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Apr 10, 2023 23:51:01 GMT -5
A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkResearch assessed democracy in every state. Tennessee came in last place. After his expulsion Thursday from the Tennessee House in response to a peaceful protest for gun control, state Rep. Justin Jones — one of two Black Democratic legislators expelled by the Republican-controlled statehouse — said that “what the nation is seeing is that we don’t have a democracy in Tennessee.” Chillingly, data offers some support for Jones’s contention. According to one scholar’s research on democracy in the US, Tennessee is indeed the least democratic state in the entire country. The research here comes from University of Washington political science professor Jake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper (later expanded into a book) developing the first-ever numerical system for ranking the health of democracy in all 50 US states. Grumbach’s State Democracy Index (SDI) grades each state on a series of metrics — like the extent to which a state is gerrymandered at the federal level, whether felons can vote, and the like — and then combines the assessments to give each state an overall score from -3 (worst) to 2 (best). The following maps, taken from his paper, shows each state’s grade on the SDI in 2000 and in 2018. You’ll see that Tennessee is by far the lightest-colored state on the 2018 map — meaning it has the lowest score of any state in the country: Rest of article here: A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkJake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper It appears that Washington has the healthiest democracy in the country. It is not coincidental that the state has had Democratic governors for almost 40 years. Control of the state House has been in Democratic hands for 25 years, and while Republicans did for one session have a one-vote lead, the same is essentially true for the state Senate. Not surprised at all at the correlation, and thankful that the Seattle area has a large enough population to basically overrule the conservatives in the eastern part of the state.
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Apr 11, 2023 1:34:41 GMT -5
CA should rate higher. since we put in our redistricting commission, the races are fair, proportional, and competitive to the degree which represents the district. the only fault, if one can be found, is that no attempt is made to carve up communities into even MORE competitive districts.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Apr 11, 2023 7:41:44 GMT -5
Interesting comment I heard this weekend from a TN reporter who reports on the TN house - it’s not that decorous a place. One GOP member periodically uses an air horn to liven things up. So the argument that these three dem members were shockingly disruptive using a bull horn - maybe not so much.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 11, 2023 7:59:45 GMT -5
CA should rate higher. since we put in our redistricting commission, the races are fair, proportional, and competitive to the degree which represents the district. the only fault, if one can be found, is that no attempt is made to carve up communities into even MORE competitive districts. From the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible. The goal is to create representative districts, not create artificially competitive races. So what you identify as a fault is actually a designed feature.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Apr 11, 2023 11:31:01 GMT -5
Any thoughts on why Rep. Gloria Johnson was not expelled along with the other 2? Amid social media commentary and reports suggesting why Rep. Gloria Johnson was not expelled while two Black representatives were expelled, Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore) said he voted not to expel Johnson because she “did not participate to the extent that Jones and Pearson did.” .... “Either Jones or Pearson smuggled a bullhorn into the chamber. The two used that bullhorn to shout and scream and incite the crowd to chant “no action, no peace”. The video showed Johnson did not appear to do anything other than stand near the Well and mover her lips,” he said in the statement. link I heard Johnson's answer on the news here when she was asked that question. And she said she was convinced that it is because of her skin color and how it would have gone over with the voting public if they had evicted a white woman. Somehow I think she nailed it...
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 11, 2023 17:41:00 GMT -5
I have still been following this situation. Most of my loved ones live in Tennessee, and I am very, very concerned about what’s happening with the state. Part of me wants to initiate a conversation with Mister about us relocating, which is something we’ve talked about before. But I can’t see me being okay with leaving our children and my grandchildren behind to fend for themselves in the stupid state of Tennessee, with everything that’s going on right now. A lot of people seem to be counting on the fact that Generation Z is getting involved and standing up for what they have concerns about, and what they feel is right. That’s awesome, I am very happy to see young people get involved to try to make their world a better place, and have their voices heard. At the same time, I am kind of disappointed in the generations before them, including mine, that were lulled into a sense of complacency and/or apathy, because we thought that things had progressed enough that certain things would never happen in our country. Boy were we wrong! And I feel some type of way about relying on Generation Z to try to get us out of the mess we’ve made over decades, by ignoring all the signs that we as a nation still had a long way to go, and how our complacency and apathy allowed a “man” to be elected to such a powerful position as the POTUS, and embolden all the ignorant, racist, misogynist, homophobes, and whoever else feels like they are superior to the next person just because they were born as a person with good physical and mental health (although I disagree in a lot of instances about the mental health thing, because they are terrible people. I was referring to people with mental health issues that prevent them from functioning in society like a “normal” person, with or without treatment) and are of a certain gender and race/ethnicity, and claim to be heterosexual (it is my absolute opinion that people that are extremely bothered by lesbians and gay men and so worried about what they do and who they love, are probably reacting so strongly because it’s a mirror that reflects something about themselves that they can’t even be honest with themselves about), to remove their masks and show their true colors and work to gain control over our nation, stomping all over civil rights for people that are different from them, and disrespecting and disregarding our laws regarding elections. I know that was a lot of long, convoluted sentences, but it’s the best I can do right now to try to express my thoughts. I hope that it made enough sense somehow, for whoever is reading, to get the gist of what I’m saying.
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Apr 11, 2023 18:21:15 GMT -5
"Those things which we dislike most in others are those things we like least about ourselves."
Bear in mind also that most of what passes for "Christian belief" in conservative circles nowadays is not in fact Christian but instead the seeking of a moral justification for bigotry. With the intersection of religion and politics, the primary result is the debasement of both.
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kadee79
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Post by kadee79 on Apr 11, 2023 20:37:41 GMT -5
I think these 2 twitter feeds speak for themselves....
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Apr 11, 2023 23:15:39 GMT -5
CA should rate higher. since we put in our redistricting commission, the races are fair, proportional, and competitive to the degree which represents the district. the only fault, if one can be found, is that no attempt is made to carve up communities into even MORE competitive districts. From the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible. The goal is to create representative districts, not create artificially competitive races. So what you identify as a fault is actually a designed feature. Right, that's the rule in NY, too - don't divide towns, etc, up - keep them contiguous. But when they are then trying to make each district as close to the same population as possible - you get these ENORMOUS rural districts made up of dozens of low population towns/counties, flowing around the high population cities to meander across the state. Instead of breaking up the cities into logical regions to go along with a FEW contiguous towns nearby. I mean, everyone recognizes that North Buffalo and South Buffalo, the East side, and the West side are distinct communities, let alone breaking things down further to Downtown, Allentown, Blackrock, University Heights, the First Ward... Living in the county north adjacent to/considered part of the traditional WNY Northtowns, I clearly associate with North Buffalo as a community - especially much moreso than my current monstrosity of a district that stretches from the edge of the Northtowns, heads east, slides around Rochester (next nearest community I might connect to, but different TV market and twice as far), adding counties as it continues beyond the Finger Lakes and into Central NY (another separate TV market, hundreds of miles away) and even further into North Country - the entire length of Lake Ontario! But instead we get tiny geographic island-like districts in a handful of cities, in a sea of GIANT low density districts everywhere else. Make the districts make sense - keep them in the same region of the state at the very least! WNY could be a district or 2, Finger Lakes another, CNY another, Albany/Capital, etc, until you get to NYC which is the lion's share of population and districts. Current congressional district map: TV markets map, represents/follows state regions better:
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Apr 11, 2023 23:32:37 GMT -5
As usual the gop hypocrisy.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 8:22:25 GMT -5
From the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible. The goal is to create representative districts, not create artificially competitive races. So what you identify as a fault is actually a designed feature. Right, that's the rule in NY, too - don't divide towns, etc, up - keep them contiguous. But when they are then trying to make each district as close to the same population as possible - you get these ENORMOUS rural districts made up of dozens of low population towns/counties, flowing around the high population cities to meander across the state. Instead of breaking up the cities into logical regions to go along with a FEW contiguous towns nearby. ... I know that the Idaho GOP used to break up Boise into multiple parts to combine it with other nearby areas. They were able to make sure that there was minimal representation of urban interests in the state legislature. I know that it is also possible to draw maps that would increase urban representation by having mainly urban districts but balancing population numbers with a lesser number from smaller nearby towns. The goal of districting should be to create representation that closely mirrors citizen's interests. It should not be to create "competitive races" nor nice sized districts.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Apr 12, 2023 8:57:27 GMT -5
Right, that's the rule in NY, too - don't divide towns, etc, up - keep them contiguous. But when they are then trying to make each district as close to the same population as possible - you get these ENORMOUS rural districts made up of dozens of low population towns/counties, flowing around the high population cities to meander across the state. Instead of breaking up the cities into logical regions to go along with a FEW contiguous towns nearby. ... I know that the Idaho GOP used to break up Boise into multiple parts to combine it with other nearby areas. They were able to make sure that there was minimal representation of urban interests in the state legislature. I know that it is also possible to draw maps that would increase urban representation by having mainly urban districts but balancing population numbers with a lesser number from smaller nearby towns. The goal of districting should be to create representation that closely mirrors citizen's interests. It should not be to create "competitive races" nor nice sized districts. Exactly - are my interests better mirrored by being part of a ~4 county district wholely within my 8 county region of the state, or by being part of a 12 county district which meanders thru parts of 4 different regions I have little connection to? And my so-called rep is based 3 regions away, focusing on her home region.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 9:27:03 GMT -5
I know that the Idaho GOP used to break up Boise into multiple parts to combine it with other nearby areas. They were able to make sure that there was minimal representation of urban interests in the state legislature. I know that it is also possible to draw maps that would increase urban representation by having mainly urban districts but balancing population numbers with a lesser number from smaller nearby towns. The goal of districting should be to create representation that closely mirrors citizen's interests. It should not be to create "competitive races" nor nice sized districts. Exactly - are my interests better mirrored by being part of a ~4 county district wholely within my 8 county region of the state, or by being part of a 12 county district which meanders thru parts of 4 different regions I have little connection to? And my so-called rep is based 3 regions away, focusing on her home region. Hard to say. Might it be better to be an appendage to a predominately more urbanized district? Not sure. It might be that your district elected an individual who is doing a poor job representing the whole district and that is what needs to change.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 12, 2023 9:36:37 GMT -5
First few paragraphs are about Rep Justin Jones being reinstated. Will skip those beginning paragraphs and get to the other issue in the article. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedJudges have halted Tennessee Republicans' plan to cut the size of Nashville's city council in half, quashing their effort to exert power over the liberal city.On Monday, a panel of judges halted an effort by the Tennessee GOP — including Gov. Bill Lee — to cut the size of Nashville’s city council from 40 members to 20. Nashville is a largely liberal city with a fairly diverse council. (You can read a bit more about the Tennessee Republicans’ effort in this ReidOut Blog post from over the weekend.) As The Associated Press notes, “A quarter of Nashville’s council seats are held by Black members, half by women and five members who identify as LGBTQ+.” Here’s how AP describes Monday’s ruling: The Democratic-leaning city of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council will get to keep all 40 of its seats for now, under a temporary decision issued Monday by three state judges. The ruling stymies an effort by state Republican lawmakers to cut the council in half after it blocked the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Music City.Before Monday’s ruling, several Democrats had highlighted the fact that the plan would severely diminish Black representation on the council, and they denounced the effort to silence voters’ voices. The GOP’s rationale — that the council was simply too large — never made sense on its face. And the excuses from some Tennessee Republicans were truly deranged — including from state Sen. Adam Lowe, who tried to offer a biblical reason. “Conventional wisdom for the past four decades has been that smaller group sizes tend to make better decisions, and this is the largest council that we see,” Lowe said, per AP. He added: “There’s a reason why we’re judged by 12 of our peers in a jury, and there’s a reason, I think, why Christ walked with 12 of his disciples.” It’s an explanation that might have worked for Lowe at his church, but the court of law is a different story, clearly. Look for Tennessee Republicans to appeal the judges’ decision, or even devise new ways to subvert the will of voters. As the saying goes: There’s no rest for the wicked. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstated
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 12, 2023 10:29:49 GMT -5
Right, that's the rule in NY, too - don't divide towns, etc, up - keep them contiguous. But when they are then trying to make each district as close to the same population as possible - you get these ENORMOUS rural districts made up of dozens of low population towns/counties, flowing around the high population cities to meander across the state. Instead of breaking up the cities into logical regions to go along with a FEW contiguous towns nearby. ... I know that the Idaho GOP used to break up Boise into multiple parts to combine it with other nearby areas. They were able to make sure that there was minimal representation of urban interests in the state legislature. I know that it is also possible to draw maps that would increase urban representation by having mainly urban districts but balancing population numbers with a lesser number from smaller nearby towns. The goal of districting should be to create representation that closely mirrors citizen's interests. It should not be to create "competitive races" nor nice sized districts. What do you mean by “nice sized districts”? Each district should represent a similar number of people.
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grumpyhermit
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Post by grumpyhermit on Apr 12, 2023 10:40:31 GMT -5
First few paragraphs are about Rep Justin Jones being reinstated. Will skip those beginning paragraphs and get to the other issue in the article. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedJudges have halted Tennessee Republicans' plan to cut the size of Nashville's city council in half, quashing their effort to exert power over the liberal city.On Monday, a panel of judges halted an effort by the Tennessee GOP — including Gov. Bill Lee — to cut the size of Nashville’s city council from 40 members to 20. Nashville is a largely liberal city with a fairly diverse council. (You can read a bit more about the Tennessee Republicans’ effort in this ReidOut Blog post from over the weekend.) As The Associated Press notes, “A quarter of Nashville’s council seats are held by Black members, half by women and five members who identify as LGBTQ+.” Here’s how AP describes Monday’s ruling: The Democratic-leaning city of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council will get to keep all 40 of its seats for now, under a temporary decision issued Monday by three state judges. The ruling stymies an effort by state Republican lawmakers to cut the council in half after it blocked the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Music City.Before Monday’s ruling, several Democrats had highlighted the fact that the plan would severely diminish Black representation on the council, and they denounced the effort to silence voters’ voices. The GOP’s rationale — that the council was simply too large — never made sense on its face. And the excuses from some Tennessee Republicans were truly deranged — including from state Sen. Adam Lowe, who tried to offer a biblical reason. “Conventional wisdom for the past four decades has been that smaller group sizes tend to make better decisions, and this is the largest council that we see,” Lowe said, per AP. He added: “There’s a reason why we’re judged by 12 of our peers in a jury, and there’s a reason, I think, why Christ walked with 12 of his disciples.” It’s an explanation that might have worked for Lowe at his church, but the court of law is a different story, clearly. Look for Tennessee Republicans to appeal the judges’ decision, or even devise new ways to subvert the will of voters. As the saying goes: There’s no rest for the wicked. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedI confess, I don't know enough about typical state/municipal politics, but is it normal for a state to ever dictate this? Presumably the city council members have not direct part in state level government correct? Also, I feel like as so soon as you invoke any form of religious reasoning into your argument, it should just be ejected as a matter of course. At least try to hide your blatantly unconstitutional bullshit.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 12, 2023 10:43:41 GMT -5
First few paragraphs are about Rep Justin Jones being reinstated. Will skip those beginning paragraphs and get to the other issue in the article. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedJudges have halted Tennessee Republicans' plan to cut the size of Nashville's city council in half, quashing their effort to exert power over the liberal city.On Monday, a panel of judges halted an effort by the Tennessee GOP — including Gov. Bill Lee — to cut the size of Nashville’s city council from 40 members to 20. Nashville is a largely liberal city with a fairly diverse council. (You can read a bit more about the Tennessee Republicans’ effort in this ReidOut Blog post from over the weekend.) As The Associated Press notes, “A quarter of Nashville’s council seats are held by Black members, half by women and five members who identify as LGBTQ+.” Here’s how AP describes Monday’s ruling: The Democratic-leaning city of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council will get to keep all 40 of its seats for now, under a temporary decision issued Monday by three state judges. The ruling stymies an effort by state Republican lawmakers to cut the council in half after it blocked the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Music City.Before Monday’s ruling, several Democrats had highlighted the fact that the plan would severely diminish Black representation on the council, and they denounced the effort to silence voters’ voices. The GOP’s rationale — that the council was simply too large — never made sense on its face. And the excuses from some Tennessee Republicans were truly deranged — including from state Sen. Adam Lowe, who tried to offer a biblical reason. “Conventional wisdom for the past four decades has been that smaller group sizes tend to make better decisions, and this is the largest council that we see,” Lowe said, per AP. He added: “There’s a reason why we’re judged by 12 of our peers in a jury, and there’s a reason, I think, why Christ walked with 12 of his disciples.” It’s an explanation that might have worked for Lowe at his church, but the court of law is a different story, clearly. Look for Tennessee Republicans to appeal the judges’ decision, or even devise new ways to subvert the will of voters. As the saying goes: There’s no rest for the wicked. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedI confess, I don't know enough about typical state/municipal politics, but is it normal for a state to ever dictate this? Presumably the city council members have not direct part in state level government correct?Also, I feel like as so soon as you invoke any form of religious reasoning into your argument, it should just be ejected as a matter of course. At least try to hide your blatantly unconstitutional bullshit. As far as I know you are correct. Has only to do with the city of Nashville.
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grumpyhermit
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Post by grumpyhermit on Apr 12, 2023 10:59:36 GMT -5
Looks like both the Tennessee House and Senate have more than twelve members. I'm sure Sen. Lowe supports reducing the number of members in both those bodies to ensure better decision making, right?
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Apr 12, 2023 11:09:46 GMT -5
You are asking them to be consistent with their Bullshit?
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Cheesy FL-Vol
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Post by Cheesy FL-Vol on Apr 12, 2023 11:25:42 GMT -5
You are asking them to be consistent with their Bullshit?
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 13:51:08 GMT -5
I know that the Idaho GOP used to break up Boise into multiple parts to combine it with other nearby areas. They were able to make sure that there was minimal representation of urban interests in the state legislature. I know that it is also possible to draw maps that would increase urban representation by having mainly urban districts but balancing population numbers with a lesser number from smaller nearby towns. The goal of districting should be to create representation that closely mirrors citizen's interests. It should not be to create "competitive races" nor nice sized districts. What do you mean by “nice sized districts”? Each district should represent a similar number of people. "nice sized districts" was a direct reference to the post I quoted which talked about geographical size.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 14:02:15 GMT -5
First few paragraphs are about Rep Justin Jones being reinstated. Will skip those beginning paragraphs and get to the other issue in the article. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedJudges have halted Tennessee Republicans' plan to cut the size of Nashville's city council in half, quashing their effort to exert power over the liberal city.On Monday, a panel of judges halted an effort by the Tennessee GOP — including Gov. Bill Lee — to cut the size of Nashville’s city council from 40 members to 20. Nashville is a largely liberal city with a fairly diverse council. (You can read a bit more about the Tennessee Republicans’ effort in this ReidOut Blog post from over the weekend.) As The Associated Press notes, “A quarter of Nashville’s council seats are held by Black members, half by women and five members who identify as LGBTQ+.” Here’s how AP describes Monday’s ruling: The Democratic-leaning city of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council will get to keep all 40 of its seats for now, under a temporary decision issued Monday by three state judges. The ruling stymies an effort by state Republican lawmakers to cut the council in half after it blocked the 2024 Republican National Convention from coming to the Music City.Before Monday’s ruling, several Democrats had highlighted the fact that the plan would severely diminish Black representation on the council, and they denounced the effort to silence voters’ voices. The GOP’s rationale — that the council was simply too large — never made sense on its face. And the excuses from some Tennessee Republicans were truly deranged — including from state Sen. Adam Lowe, who tried to offer a biblical reason. “Conventional wisdom for the past four decades has been that smaller group sizes tend to make better decisions, and this is the largest council that we see,” Lowe said, per AP. He added: “There’s a reason why we’re judged by 12 of our peers in a jury, and there’s a reason, I think, why Christ walked with 12 of his disciples.” It’s an explanation that might have worked for Lowe at his church, but the court of law is a different story, clearly. Look for Tennessee Republicans to appeal the judges’ decision, or even devise new ways to subvert the will of voters. As the saying goes: There’s no rest for the wicked. Judges deal a major blow to Tennessee GOP as lawmaker is reinstatedI confess, I don't know enough about typical state/municipal politics, but is it normal for a state to ever dictate this? Presumably the city council members have not direct part in state level government correct? Also, I feel like as so soon as you invoke any form of religious reasoning into your argument, it should just be ejected as a matter of course. At least try to hide your blatantly unconstitutional bullshit. without getting into the details of this particular situation, all governmental entities below the state level are creations of the state government. Some state constitutions do have specific rules but without those, state governments are in control. It could be argued that the federal guarantees of equal protection could impact special treatment of one city.
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Apr 12, 2023 18:34:24 GMT -5
From the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible. The goal is to create representative districts, not create artificially competitive races. So what you identify as a fault is actually a designed feature. bills- i am deeply familiar with the CCRC. my comment was that SOME PEOPLE might find fault with the fact that different parts of the state vote disproportionately for Republicans or Democrats. i don't share that perspective. to be clear, again, although i feel i was clear the first time, i don't find ANY fault with it. if i did i would not have suggested it as an alternative. so, either you have again misinterpreted what i wrote, or you are trolling me. either way, i am glad i have you blocked. i could spend all day answering your manufactured grievances. then again, maybe it was just inelegant phrasing. your use of the word "you" in this case is ambiguous. but i am disinclined to be generous in assuming that you did not mean to tie "you" and "fault" together in this case.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 19:30:19 GMT -5
bills- i am deeply familiar with the CCRC. my comment was that SOME PEOPLE might find fault with the fact that different parts of the state vote disproportionately for Republicans or Democrats. i don't share that perspective. to be clear, again, although i feel i was clear the first time, i don't find ANY fault with it. if i did i would not have suggested it as an alternative. so, either you have again misinterpreted what i wrote, or you are trolling me. either way, i am glad i have you blocked. i could spend all day answering your manufactured grievances. then again, maybe it was just inelegant phrasing. your use of the word "you" in this case is ambiguous. but i am disinclined to be generous in assuming that you did not mean to tie "you" and "fault" together in this case. Here is your post and my response: CA should rate higher. since we put in our redistricting commission, the races are fair, proportional, and competitive to the degree which represents the district. the only fault, if one can be found, is that no attempt is made to carve up communities into even MORE competitive districts. From the California Citizens Redistricting Commission Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible. The goal is to create representative districts, not create artificially competitive races. So what you identify as a fault is actually a designed feature. I think you are totally off base with your criticism of me.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Apr 12, 2023 20:47:47 GMT -5
Exactly - are my interests better mirrored by being part of a ~4 county district wholely within my 8 county region of the state, or by being part of a 12 county district which meanders thru parts of 4 different regions I have little connection to? And my so-called rep is based 3 regions away, focusing on her home region. Hard to say. Might it be better to be an appendage to a predominately more urbanized district? Not sure. It might be that your district elected an individual who is doing a poor job representing the whole district and that is what needs to change. Can any one person effectively represent a 12 county area spanning at least 4 of the ten regions in NYS? She went district shopping when redistricting eliminated her previous Syracuse district, so hopped into running for the rural snake that mine morphed into. All politics are local - she's still representing "her" local CNY area. I haven't heard anything about her or from her since she was elected and campaign ads disappeared. My local area is WNY, but I can't vote for the WNY politicians I know and hear about daily in my local news, from the district on the other half of my county even! THAT's why I'd prefer to be a part of a district centered in my region.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Apr 12, 2023 21:15:03 GMT -5
Hard to say. Might it be better to be an appendage to a predominately more urbanized district? Not sure. It might be that your district elected an individual who is doing a poor job representing the whole district and that is what needs to change. Can any one person effectively represent a 12 county area spanning at least 4 of the ten regions in NYS? She went district shopping when redistricting eliminated her previous Syracuse district, so hopped into running for the rural snake that mine morphed into. All politics are local - she's still representing "her" local CNY area. I haven't heard anything about her or from her since she was elected and campaign ads disappeared. My local area is WNY, but I can't vote for the WNY politicians I know and hear about daily in my local news, from the district on the other half of my county even! THAT's why I'd prefer to be a part of a district centered in my region. I am not sure about "region" in New York. Out here in the wild west, things are generally about urban and rural interests. Districts which cover large geographic areas are united by concerns that are different than small geographic area districts with dense populations.
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Apr 12, 2023 21:16:42 GMT -5
This is a fascinating site for anyone truly interested in Congressional districts and redistricting. You can look state-by-state at the size, layout, racial makeup, and partisan lean of each district in the country, as well as the comparison between the old and new maps. I have to laugh particularly at the states where one or two sparsely-populated rural districts cover the vast majority of the land area, while urban districts are minuscule by comparison. projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-2022-maps/
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 12, 2023 22:02:50 GMT -5
A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkResearch assessed democracy in every state. Tennessee came in last place. After his expulsion Thursday from the Tennessee House in response to a peaceful protest for gun control, state Rep. Justin Jones — one of two Black Democratic legislators expelled by the Republican-controlled statehouse — said that “what the nation is seeing is that we don’t have a democracy in Tennessee.” Chillingly, data offers some support for Jones’s contention. According to one scholar’s research on democracy in the US, Tennessee is indeed the least democratic state in the entire country. The research here comes from University of Washington political science professor Jake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper (later expanded into a book) developing the first-ever numerical system for ranking the health of democracy in all 50 US states. Grumbach’s State Democracy Index (SDI) grades each state on a series of metrics — like the extent to which a state is gerrymandered at the federal level, whether felons can vote, and the like — and then combines the assessments to give each state an overall score from -3 (worst) to 2 (best). The following maps, taken from his paper, shows each state’s grade on the SDI in 2000 and in 2018. You’ll see that Tennessee is by far the lightest-colored state on the 2018 map — meaning it has the lowest score of any state in the country: Rest of article here: A study confirms it: Tennessee’s democracy really is as bad as the expulsions made you thinkJake Grumbach, who wrote a 2022 paper It appears that Washington has the healthiest democracy in the country. It is not coincidental that the state has had Democratic governors for almost 40 years. Control of the state House has been in Democratic hands for 25 years, and while Republicans did for one session have a one-vote lead, the same is essentially true for the state Senate. Not surprised at all at the correlation, and thankful that the Seattle area has a large enough population to basically overrule the conservatives in the eastern part of the state. It is scary to me some of the shifts between the two snapshots. Illinois does better but Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana do worse. Certain areas of the country its easy to visualize the death of democracy.
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