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Political analyst Charlie Cook looks at the renewed push by Democrats to redraw congressional lines in a handful of states. He doesn’t think it’ll go very far.
Democratic insiders say Louisiana is the state most likely to redraw its lines. National Democrats would like to see freshman Rep. Charles Melancon’s southern Louisiana district beefed up a bit (he won by fewer than 600 votes) and would like to hurt the GOP. The most obvious target would be Democrat-turned-Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander. […]Some governors and state legislators are wary of midterm redistricting. Democrats contend that a pair of Republican governors, Rick Perry of Texas and Bill Owens of Colorado, were damaged by their party’s push to reopen the redistricting process. Knowing that history, Democratic governors might want to steer clear of such fights. Why would New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, want to get into a brawl that might not gain Democrats anything? Two years ago, when some Democrats were encouraging Richardson to bring up redistricting in a special legislative session, he declined, saying it would be “very divisive.” He noted that “just because the Republicans do it in a wrong fashion doesn’t mean I do it to gain revenge — although it was certainly tempting.”
Another Democratic governor, Illinois’s Rod Blagojevich, is up for re-election in 2006 and may not want the distraction of redistricting.
Cook didn’t mention it, but as I’ve already told you, House Speaker Madigan is against the idea.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 10:24 am
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Perry wasn’t hurt by redistricting. Perry was hurt by calling a special session for school finance with out a plan to fix it.
Perry will not make it out of the primaries in ‘06. Kay Bailey is coming home to kick his pretty ass out of the Mansion.
Comment by Doug Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 1:26 pm
Thanks, bro. Just another example of why Charlie Cook’s weak spot is state-level politics.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 1:37 pm
I’m a Democrat and this is bad for democracy. This was a bad idea for Delay in texas and is a bad idea for us in Illinois.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 2:25 pm
How is this “Bad for democracy?”
Do you know the details of the Texas case? The Democratically controlled legislature punted in 2001, and let the Courts redraw the districts.
Delay, correctly, asserted the leg’s constitutional right to draw the districts as the new Republican controlled leg saw fit.
What is “Bad for Democracy” is all of these state legislatures letting Judges draw the districts. That is cowardice if you ask me.
Comment by Doug Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 3:00 pm
You say that as though Delay was a member of the legislature. He’s not.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 3:10 pm
Speaker delivers new Argonne atom smasher = no remap.
No smasher = remap.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 5:29 pm
Delay is the defacto leader of the Republican Party in the State of Texas.
Comment by Doug Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 05 @ 9:28 pm
All I meant was that we are gaining ground in Illinois everyday. I think we can beat more and more r’s even on their retention maps. With all due respect I don’t think this map has anyting to do with RIA. RIA swings on whatever power Michigan still has with DOE. On the Merits IL is finest sight with the most intitutional knowlegde. It seems to me that moving this remap idea forward is too heavy handed and would turn people off. But then again the current maps aren’t pillars of justice (see fourth district)
selah
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 2, 05 @ 9:35 am