Down and Out

[DCPatriot]

Down and Out

The Democratic Party’s losses at the state level are almost unprecedented, and could cripple it for a long time to come.
By Jamelle Bouie


The most immediate consequence of the Democrats’ midterm disaster was losing control of the Senate and ceding Congress to the GOP. For the next two years, Democrats will have to deal with conservative legislation, right-wing hijinks, and—in all odds—a vacancy crisis, as Republicans freeze confirmations and refuse to fill spots in the executive branch and on the federal bench.

That is bad for the Democratic Party. What’s on the horizon is worse. As Amy Walter notes for the Cook Political Report, Democrats lost big at all levels of government, including the states. “Today,” she writes, “about 55 percent of all state legislative seats in the country are held by Republicans. That’s the largest share of GOP state legislators since the 1920s.” What’s more, “just 11 states have an all Democratic-controlled legislature,” and Democrats hold single-party control in just seven states. By contrast, “Republicans have a legislative majority in 30 states, including the battleground states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina,” and single-party control in most of the South.

This, Walter says, is a slow-moving disaster for congressional Democrats. She’s right. Absent major gains in 2016, 2018, and 2020, Democrats will be shut out of the next round of redistricting. If, she writes, “Democrats can’t get a seat at the redistricting table in 2020, they may find themselves locked out of a congressional majority for another 10 years.” And even if they do get a seat at the table, argues Greg Sargent for the Washington Post, there’s still the problem of population distribution; even in blue states, most Democratic voters are crammed in a handful of urban areas, which dilutes their strength in House elections. Sargent quotes David Wasserman (also of the Cook Political Report): “If Democrats were to get neutral maps drawn by God in all 50 states, they would still fall well short of winning back the House,” says Wasserman. “What Democrats really need is a massive resettlement program.”

more at link:


http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/democratic_party_s_losses_at_the_state_level_are_extraordinary_the_party.html

[jmyrlefuller]

“What Democrats really need is a massive resettlement program.”

Don't think for a moment that they're not working on that.

[Oceander]

The Democratic Party’s losses at the state level are almost unprecedented, and could cripple it for a long time to come.

I believe that about as much as I believed the democrat claims back in 2008 that the GOP was going to be a minority party for at least a generation, if not longer.

[Free Vulcan]

You could nearly write a dissertation on this, but what this article describes is some of the most fascinating mechanics playing out in the American political system. It's amazing how our foresighted the Founders were when the gave us our system of checks and balances, because this huge disparity between cities and rural is one of the things they anticipated. It's also ironic because Dem policies have created the disparity in their effort to pack everyone into the cities and leave the rural areas with a handful of bitter clingers, yet now it has come back to bite them at the ballot box.

What you are seeing is the fracturing of our nation. Whether that amounts to real or de facto in the future remains to be seen. If we don't get our debt under control NOW these splits will widen considerably, but you can see visually see them now in the maps showing states that have GOP legislatures and governors v. Dems ones. We are becoming a nation of vast low population rural areas and near city-states in the metropolitan areas, and it creates this two tiered effect on Congress and the Presidency.

That is reflected in our congressional makeup by state, and you see it again in the electoral college where states are majority GOP in their representation, but go blue in the electoral because of a mega city like New York or Chicago.  A third tier if you will is the one between moderate and more conservative Republicans in Congress and I suppose the reverse for Dems, and a fourth showing the tension between conservative states and DC and conservative rural areas with the big cities, like Illinois.

What the states really need to do is apportion their electoral votes by congressional district. If that had been done, Romney would have barely won last time. It would be the another nail in the coffin for the Dems if we did, but I don't see it happening.

[GourmetDan]

If we don't get our debt under control NOW these splits will widen considerably...

The debt-level is going parabolic.  I don't think there is any way to get it under control...

[Free Vulcan]

I don't either. It was posted here  a couple of weeks back that we are now using new debt to cover old because we don't have the cash flow anymore to retire it outright. Financially, that is called the beginning of the end. There are no choices or actions from here that are good and don't involve alot of pain.

As I tell people: L2A - Learn To Live Amish. And be in a red state toward the middle of the country, because that's your best bet for survival.

[Cyber Liberty]

I believe that about as much as I believed the democrat claims back in 2008 that the GOP was going to be a minority party for at least a generation, if not longer.

I agree with that, with this caveat:  The Dems could not point to a complete collapse of the GOP at the state level as we can now.  Quick baseball analogy:  The states are the farm league for the federal majors.  The Dems are in trouble with their farm system.  The problem isn't now, it's in the next five election cycles or so when candidates are identified for the House and Senate.

[DCPatriot]

I agree with that, with this caveat:  The Dems could not point to a complete collapse of the GOP at the state level as we can now.  Quick baseball analogy:  The states are the farm league for the federal majors.  The Dems are in trouble with their farm system.  The problem isn't now, it's in the next five election cycles or so when candidates are identified for the House and Senate.

It certainly explains why the DEMS are so frantic to get amnesty and eventually voting rights as new citizens for over 10 million illegals.

[Cyber Liberty]

It certainly explains why the DEMS are so frantic to get amnesty and eventually voting rights as new citizens for over 10 million illegals.

Indeed it does.  They don't care about the citizen thing, because they intend to get those votes whether they're legal or not.  That's why the big fight over Voter ID.  These are companion issues:  The Dems want a flood of illegal immigrants, who will then cast illegal votes for Dems.

[Free Vulcan]

I agree with that, with this caveat:  The Dems could not point to a complete collapse of the GOP at the state level as we can now.  Quick baseball analogy:  The states are the farm league for the federal majors.  The Dems are in trouble with their farm system.  The problem isn't now, it's in the next five election cycles or so when candidates are identified for the House and Senate.

See that here in Iowa, the Dem candidates for State and Congressional offices were all second rate at best, mostly older, and were their party heavyweights. There literally is no one coming up thru the ranks behind them. Meanwhile the GOP has a huge crop of up and comers that can go places.

Which is great, because the states are going to have to shoulder an increasing burden in year to come unless big changes are made in DC, now. The states are going to need good leadership to overcome that.

[musiclady]

I don't either. It was posted here  a couple of weeks back that we are now using new debt to cover old because we don't have the cash flow anymore to retire it outright. Financially, that is called the beginning of the end. There are no choices or actions from here that are good and don't involve alot of pain.

As I tell people: L2A - Learn To Live Amish. And be in a red state toward the middle of the country, because that's your best bet for survival.

It's very convenient to live near the largest Amish settlement in the entire country.

(They make good food, too!)

[Bigun]

I agree with that, with this caveat:  The Dems could not point to a complete collapse of the GOP at the state level as we can now.  Quick baseball analogy:  The states are the farm league for the federal majors.  The Dems are in trouble with their farm system.  The problem isn't now, it's in the next five election cycles or so when candidates are identified for the House and Senate.

Well said!  Well said indeed and spot on target as well!   

[Bigun]

I don't either. It was posted here  a couple of weeks back that we are now using new debt to cover old because we don't have the cash flow anymore to retire it outright. Financially, that is called the beginning of the end. There are no choices or actions from here that are good and don't involve alot of pain.

As I tell people: L2A - Learn To Live Amish. And be in a red state toward the middle of the country, because that's your best bet for survival.

If you think it's bad now just wait until interest rates begin to rise as they inevitably must at some point!