berg80
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- Oct 28, 2017
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How Wisconsin Became the GOP’s Laboratory for Dismantling Democracy
In his snug campaign office in suburban Milwaukee, located in a shopping plaza next to a dentist and an acupuncturist, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers scans the brightly colored maps that hang on the walls. They depict the tortuously shaped legislative districts drawn in a state now regarded as one of the most gerrymandered in the nation. “Who in their right minds could’ve made them up?” Evers asks.
The answer: Republicans in the state legislature. Evers saw firsthand the impact of GOP control of the redistricting process when he ran for governor in 2018. That year, Democrats swept all five statewide races and won 53 percent of votes cast for the state assembly, but the party retained just 36 percent of seats in the chamber. “It’s real simple,” Evers says, after eating a Five Guys burger for lunch. “All the statewide elected officials are Democrats… But then you go into the legislature and it’s almost two-thirds Republicans. There’s something wrong with that picture.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politic...s-gerrymandering-redistricting-evers-michels/
GOP looks for veto-proof majorities in Wisconsin Legislature
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans are hoping Tim Michels will defeat Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November, but even if Evers prevails they could still reshape the battleground state by winning enough seats in the Legislature to override vetoes.
If Republicans can flip five seats in the Assembly and one in the Senate they’ll have the two-thirds majority they need. They would be free to rework state politics at will, including the state budget and election administration.
https://apnews.com/article/2022-mid...ture-madison-7cf2dee8681e9ba610c0e5621864b7f7
Here are a few stats that would make the worst sort of anti-democratic authoritarian blush. WI is so gerrymandered that Dems would need to win 64% of the vote statewide just to get a slim majority in the legislature. Conversely, Repubs can win a majority with 44% of the vote. Meaning Repubs are on the verge of nullifying democracy in WI by controlling the legislature with super majorities not thanks to the popularity of their positions but rather based on cheating.
The tyranny of the minority being the national project Repubs have been working on for years. Given a head start by virtue of the structural advantages Repubs have in the Senate and the EC. No wonder Repubs flip out when Dems propose national legislation designed to thwart Repub's deceitful schemes to grab power.
In his snug campaign office in suburban Milwaukee, located in a shopping plaza next to a dentist and an acupuncturist, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers scans the brightly colored maps that hang on the walls. They depict the tortuously shaped legislative districts drawn in a state now regarded as one of the most gerrymandered in the nation. “Who in their right minds could’ve made them up?” Evers asks.
The answer: Republicans in the state legislature. Evers saw firsthand the impact of GOP control of the redistricting process when he ran for governor in 2018. That year, Democrats swept all five statewide races and won 53 percent of votes cast for the state assembly, but the party retained just 36 percent of seats in the chamber. “It’s real simple,” Evers says, after eating a Five Guys burger for lunch. “All the statewide elected officials are Democrats… But then you go into the legislature and it’s almost two-thirds Republicans. There’s something wrong with that picture.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politic...s-gerrymandering-redistricting-evers-michels/
GOP looks for veto-proof majorities in Wisconsin Legislature
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans are hoping Tim Michels will defeat Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November, but even if Evers prevails they could still reshape the battleground state by winning enough seats in the Legislature to override vetoes.
If Republicans can flip five seats in the Assembly and one in the Senate they’ll have the two-thirds majority they need. They would be free to rework state politics at will, including the state budget and election administration.
https://apnews.com/article/2022-mid...ture-madison-7cf2dee8681e9ba610c0e5621864b7f7
Here are a few stats that would make the worst sort of anti-democratic authoritarian blush. WI is so gerrymandered that Dems would need to win 64% of the vote statewide just to get a slim majority in the legislature. Conversely, Repubs can win a majority with 44% of the vote. Meaning Repubs are on the verge of nullifying democracy in WI by controlling the legislature with super majorities not thanks to the popularity of their positions but rather based on cheating.
The tyranny of the minority being the national project Repubs have been working on for years. Given a head start by virtue of the structural advantages Repubs have in the Senate and the EC. No wonder Repubs flip out when Dems propose national legislation designed to thwart Repub's deceitful schemes to grab power.
