{"id":1115,"date":"2025-08-11T14:45:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T19:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/?p=1115"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:14:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T16:14:56","slug":"a-girl-can-dreamhow-do-we-wake-up-from-this-redistricting-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/a-girl-can-dreamhow-do-we-wake-up-from-this-redistricting-nightmare\/","title":{"rendered":"A girl can dream\u2026how do we wake up from this redistricting nightmare?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A GIRL CAN DREAM…HOW DO WE WAKE UP FROM THIS REDISTRICTING NIGHTMARE?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A GIRL CAN DREAM...HOW DO WE WAKE UP FROM THIS REDISTRICTING NIGHTMARE?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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This post originally appeared on Dead Dillo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

This redistricting kerfuffle is a big mess. \u00a0The Texas Republican leadership wants to help solidify power for the Republicans at the Federal level.\u00a0 Their plan is to redraw district lines in Texas so that it is more likely Republicans will win seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. \u00a0Normally this is done once every 10-years when new census numbers come out \u2013 but the idea is that they will do this now so that Republicans can retain control of the U.S. House at the midterm elections and maybe even grow their margin of control.\u00a0 This would help make sure that President Trump can keep on implementing his agenda without having to worry as much about whether the U.S. House will play along.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

As far as I can tell, there is no law against drawing new lines between censuses, it\u2019s just usually not done.\u00a0 The Democrats decry this as \u201can obvious power grab,\u201d which clearly it is \u2013 I mean, that\u2019s the whole point, right? \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t seem to be an illegal power grab.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The Texas Republicans<\/strong> have the majority in both the Texas House and the Texas Senate, so, to them, that means they can do what they want as long as it\u2019s basically legal.\u00a0 I imagine if they get their way it will be challenged in the courts, but for now, let\u2019s assume that if they pass the new district lines, they would stand.\u00a0 It remains to be seen if the new district map would actually result in more Republicans in the U.S. House \u2013 that\u2019s what elections are for \u2013 but the Republicans think they would get the results they want, and I imagine they have thought it through pretty thoroughly.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The Democrats don\u2019t want the new lines drawn. They don\u2019t want the Republicans to solidify power in the U.S. House.\u00a0 \u00a0Being the minority though, the Dems don\u2019t have very many tools at their disposal to stop it.\u00a0 One of those few tools is to not show up.\u00a0 With no Democrats there is no quorum, and no vote can be taken.\u00a0 I can\u2019t actually think of any other tool they have. \u00a0I guess they couldn\u2019t either, because that\u2019s the tool they are using \u2013 even though it is not clear how long they can hold out or what they think is going to happen next to make it possible for them to come home.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

So now, no work can go forward.\u00a0 Yay. (She said with obvious sarcasm).<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

That might not be so awfully bad \u2013 I mean it is just a special session \u2013 but in this case it would be good if the legislature could at least take some action regarding much needed flood relief for the folks who were harmed in the terrible Fourth of July flooding on the Guadalupe River. \u00a0\u00a0So, Texans are suffering needlessly because our elected representatives can\u2019t figure out a way to work together.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

On the face of it, our system is set up so that the majority usually gets their way \u2013 which seems fair.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

When it gets right down to it, if groups of people disagree, and you have to make a decision, voting seems as good a way as any to settle the decision.\u00a0 That means, with a few exceptions where the courts step in, the majority gets their way most of the time.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The confounding issue here, though, is that it is possible to draw district lines in such a way that the majority opinion of the voters is not necessarily represented \u2013 our word for that is \u201cgerrymandering.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

McLennan County<\/strong> is a good example of gerrymandering.\u00a0 By cutting off East Waco and part of South Waco from House District 56 and combining it with House District 13, it makes it more likely that both HD 13 and HD 56 will elect Republican representatives.\u00a0 It could be that both of those districts would go Republican any way. But, if all of McLennan County were represented by one House District (like it used to be), there would at least be more of a fighting chance that it would elect a Democrat representative.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Of course, there are plenty of examples of places where the gerrymandering goes the other way and Democrats benefit. \u00a0The point is not that Republicans or Democrats are bad \u2013 the point is that it is possible to mess with the lines in such a way that the majority opinion is not necessarily being represented.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The Republicans in Texas currently have the power.<\/strong> They are trying to re-jigger the lines to increase their power and to make it more permanent.\u00a0 The Democrats, having few options to resist, have pushed the red button for the \u201cnuclear\u201d option of a\u00a0 quorum break.\u00a0 Now everybody is stuck.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

We can all be mad and call the other side names, but to me this is not so much a \u201cRepublican\u201d and \u201cDemocrat\u201d issue.\u00a0 One side is not necessarily more \u201cnoble\u201d than the other. \u00a0I could see either side doing exactly what the other side is doing if positions were reversed. \u00a0The issue to me is whether the intent of the district map is to fairly represent the will of the people or whether the intent is that whoever is in power gets the right to draw the lines as they see fit to try to keep their power.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I guess the real question for us as voters is do we want a system where one side or the other is entitled to get and keep power and to use their power to make it ever more likely that they will continue to be in power?\u00a0 Or do we want a system where the pendulum can potentially swing back and forth between the two parties (or more parties if we had them), so that we continuously adjust toward the middle. \u00a0That depends on whether we believe one side always has the best ideas, or we believe that we get better ideas from listening to each other.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I believe we get the best ideas from listening to each other and finding ways to work together, and we need to try to build a system that incentivizes that. Gerrymandering dis-incentivizes working together, it incentivizes greater polarization.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

In my dreams, the Texas Republicans and Democrats<\/strong> would set up some kind of peace talk and hammer out an agreement on re-districting that would let them all get back to work.\u00a0 In my dreams, we would use some kind of mathematical modeling that would draw the district lines as \u201cfairly\u201d as possible \u2013 I\u2019m not even sure exactly what I mean by \u201cfairly,\u201d maybe using some kind of geographical criteria or some kind of population density criteria. \u00a0\u00a0(I\u2019m sure other people have thought about this more than I have and have ideas about how to do it.)<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The problem with making my dreams come true is that it\u2019s in the Republican\u2019s hands to make it happen.\u00a0 They are in control, and they would most likely have to offer the first tiny olive twig.\u00a0\u00a0 They are not likely to do that \u2013 not necessarily because they are Republicans \u2013 but because whoever is in power is not likely to voluntarily give up that power.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

What to do?\u00a0 The only option I see is that we the people \u2013 the voters \u2013 need to let our representatives know that we are more interested in getting work done than in solidifying power for either party\u2026and we plan to vote accordingly the next chance we get.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Democrats can certainly make phone calls and write letters to our elected leaders \u2013 but that won\u2019t be enough. \u00a0What about you, moderate Republicans? \u00a0What about you, people who don\u2019t identify with either party?\u00a0 What about you, people who are just tired of watching all the drama with no real results?<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Will you write to or call your elected folks and let them know you would like to see a compromise on redistricting \u2013 maybe a bi-partisan committee, or some independent group \u2013 that would give us a shot at drawing districts that incentivize working together when the time comes?\u00a0 Maybe then everybody could get back to work.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

That could make a difference.\u00a0 \u00a0If your elected representatives knew that they don\u2019t get your vote just for having an \u201cR\u201d by their names, if they understood they need to earn your vote by figuring out ways to get work done, even if that means working with \u201cthe other team\u201d \u2014 they might listen to you. \u00a0If they know you are paying attention, and you plan to vote for someone who cares more about helping people than solidifying power, maybe they would listen to you.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I know it\u2019s a long shot.\u00a0 I know we have been polarized for a while, but I have at least a little hope that people are getting tired of it and are ready to figure out ways to work together to get things done.\u00a0 It\u2019s the best idea I have so far. I\u2019d love to hear if you have others!<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I feel like the alternative is just wait it out, keep calling each other names, and do it all again next time, and next time, and next time.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

I think we can do better than that! (She said with at least a spoonful of cautious optimism.)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A GIRL CAN DREAM…HOW DO WE WAKE UP FROM THIS REDISTRICTING NIGHTMARE? A GIRL CAN DREAM…HOW DO WE WAKE UP FROM THIS REDISTRICTING NIGHTMARE? This post originally appeared on Dead Dillo.\u00a0 \u00a0 This redistricting kerfuffle is a big mess. \u00a0The Texas Republican leadership wants to help solidify power for the Republicans at the Federal level.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-1115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-people-before-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1115"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2540,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1115\/revisions\/2540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}