How the GOP gerrymandered itself into trouble
Political analyst Charlie Cook, writing in National Journal, muses about gerrymandering and the Republicans’ difficulty in breaking out of their demographic cul de sac in a way that I hadn’t thought of before.
As Cook notes, the GOP got 48 percent of the House vote in 2012 yet still won 54 percent of House seats, indicating that gerrymandering did produce benefits for the party. But ….
But could the Republicans’ arguably rigged House majority actually be a curse disguised as a blessing? It’s an interesting question. They clearly did everything they could to purge Democratic voters from their districts ahead of 2012, no matter whether those voters were white, black, Hispanic, left-handed, or right-minded—just as Democrats would have done had the roles been reversed. But in the process of quarantining Democrats, Republicans effectively purged millions of minority voters from their own districts, and that should raise a warning flag. By drawing themselves into safe, lily-white strongholds, have Republicans inadvertently boxed themselves into an alternate universe that bears little resemblance to the rest of the country?
When I read that paragraph, my mind jumped immediately to this photo compilation of Georgia’s GOP Senate caucus that I ran last month:
(Since then, yet another white male has been added to that caucus in a special election.)
As Cook points out, the degree of gerrymandering that produces outcomes like that pictured above means that even if Republicans wanted to reach out to minority voters, they can’t. They have few if any such minorities in their districts. By making their districts whiter and whiter, they have essentially trapped themselves.
As Cook notes:
“For example, using only 2010 census data, Rep. Daniel Webster’s Central Florida district jumped from 57 percent white to 66 percent white; Rep. Pete Sessions’s Dallas-area district leaped from 42 percent to 53 percent white; and Rep. Pat Tiberi’s Central Ohio district soared from 68 percent to 88 percent white. All three Republicans had relatively close races in the last decade but won easily in 2012.”
So imagine yourself as a Republican exploring whether to moderate your position on immigration. As part of the political calculation, you understand that you might lose some votes on the right, but you would hope to pick up some votes among Hispanics. However, if you have no Hispanic Americans in your district, that option is foreclosed. You make yourselves more vulnerable on the right, with little chance of being rewarded for it elsewhere.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo
A great case in point would be Mike Coffman, a Republican congressman from Colorado. Two years ago, Coffman bitterly opposed the DREAM Act, calling it a “nightmare,” and championed the use of English-only ballots. His district, with only 8 percent of its population Hispanic, had previously elected immigration extremist Tom Tancredo.
However, redistricting has changed that suburban Denver district. Coffman now represents a district that is 20 percent Hispanic, and suddenly, he not only supports the DREAM Act, he supports a path to legal status as well. He may even be open to allowing a path to citizenship.
“My district dramatically changed,” the congressman told POLITICO. “In the district I had until last month, there wasn’t a significant Hispanic population, and with the population I had, immigration wasn’t a significant issue. In the district I have now, there is a significant Hispanic population. And meeting with those people really put a face on it.”
I’ll leave it to the voters of Coffman’s district to decide the sincerity of his conversion. But in his district as previously drawn, it is unlikely that he could have made that transformation even if he wanted to do so. Like his party, he was trapped in a political version of a gated community, a sanctuary that also serves as a cell.
– Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
131 comments Add your comment
Maximum_Bob
March 15th, 2013
1:07 pm
That’s the problem with living in the past.
TaxPayer
March 15th, 2013
1:11 pm
As Cook points out, the degree of gerrymandering that produces outcomes like that pictured above means that even if Republicans wanted to reach out to minority voters, they can’t.
Come now Jay. A timely use of blackface, while out and about stumping, by our esteemed Republican politicians should more than suffice in their efforts to garner the attention of the minority voter.
Grasshopper
March 15th, 2013
1:14 pm
So Coffman is kind of like Obama who opposed gay marriage before he supported it. Got it.
getalife
March 15th, 2013
1:15 pm
Karma.
Jm
March 15th, 2013
1:16 pm
“They have few if any such minorities in their districts. ”
Jay, seriously?
To be fair, math isn’t your area of expertise per se. But that is an absurd statement on its face.
Lets consider this at the national level with the data you provided. If the Republicans had placed all 48% of their voters in their districts, an the 52% of democrats in other districts, then the republicans would no longer control the house.
Obviously the picture is more complex. I hate gerrymandering. But let’s not oversimplify this with statements like you made above.
Jm
March 15th, 2013
1:18 pm
As to your general, overall point. Gerrymandering is bad for American politics.
But it’s bad on both sides. Politico has reported there are now far more hard left liberals in the Democratic Party than there were in the prior congress.
Brosephus™ - Browning America Since 1973
March 15th, 2013
1:19 pm
The GOP doesn’t have a minority problem. They’re trying to corner the market on the future minority to keep them from voting for Democratic Party candidates.
HDB
March 15th, 2013
1:20 pm
Gerrymandering reminds me of “white flight” from the cities to the ‘burbs…..but now,the GOP sees the demographics are catching up to them….moving to where they are now ..and they can’t run any further!! Problem is…Republicans have castigated and denigrated minorities for so long, they can’t change their image!!
Lucy…you got some ’splainin’ to do…and outreach isn’t going to be enough!!
mm
March 15th, 2013
1:21 pm
Nobody ever accused republicans of being smart.
The red states tend to be rural and the least populated, thus they have less house seats than the more populated blue states. So, instead of reaching out to minorities to gain seats in the blue states, they simply protected their existing seats in the red states.
The cons will lose the house in 2014.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
1:22 pm
I’ll leave it to the voters of Coffman’s district to decide the sincerity of his conversion.
And I say good for him.
He now seeks to represent his constituency.
I guess the question is, will the party purists seek to oust him in the next primary?
CJ
March 15th, 2013
1:23 pm
Jay: “the GOP got 48 percent of the House vote in 2012 yet still won 54 percent of House seats”
Am I the only one who finds it outrageous that our electoral system is structured such that those with the fewest votes for the House of Representatives hold its majority and control it?
We need serious election reform in this country.
Erwin's cat
March 15th, 2013
1:23 pm
Republicans have castigated and denigrated minorities for so long, they can’t change their image!!
They’ve had a little help with that image…see above
TaxPayer
March 15th, 2013
1:23 pm
Up here where I live I believe there may actually be two or even a few minority voters so the use of the singluar, “minority voter”, would be inaccurate. I believe we have something like 96% white and 4% for all other races here in our little county yet the Republican presidential candidate can still only manage to get something like 75% of the vote. Perhaps they just need to refine their message and maybe add one more FOX show to the AM radio lineup. I think there’s an unused 3to5 AM slot available on one of the FOX AM radio channels.
mm
March 15th, 2013
1:23 pm
” Politico has reported there are now far more hard left liberals in the Democratic Party than there were in the prior congress.”
Ah, Politico. There’s your sign.
Welcome to the Occupation
March 15th, 2013
1:26 pm
They sure are a grinning bunch, for a pack of troglodytes.
Brosephus™ - Browning America Since 1973
March 15th, 2013
1:28 pm
He now seeks to represent his constituency.
I guess the question is, will the party purists seek to oust him in the next primary?
That right there will be the real test.
Welcome to the Occupation
March 15th, 2013
1:28 pm
mm: “Politico has reported there are now far more hard left liberals in the Democratic Party than there were in the prior congress.”
Ah, Politico. There’s your sign.”
Indeed. The great Drudgico!
canwetalk
March 15th, 2013
1:28 pm
In the time it took me to post my last comment on taxing the lower classes more, the topic has changed to gerrymandering. That does not encourage any comments of a cognitive nature
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
1:32 pm
canwetalk: Type faster next time.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
1:33 pm
Ah, Politico. There’s your sign.
Heh, heh, heh.
Or as Charles P. Pierce likes to call Politico — Tiger Beat on the Potomac.
RAMZAD
March 15th, 2013
1:34 pm
I agree with the comment made earlier that the Republican mission is not to attract minority voters. The objective is to fix it so that minorities can not vote at all. The plan is much more strategic than you are articulating, Jay.
If minorities can not vote Republicans will not care where they live.
F. Sinkwich
March 15th, 2013
1:34 pm
“Republicans have castigated and denigrated minorities for so long…”
Not stated as a factual intention. **
** KammieCrap. All rights reserved.
Brosephus™ - Browning America Since 1973
March 15th, 2013
1:34 pm
But in the process of quarantining Democrats, Republicans effectively purged millions of minority voters from their own districts, and that should raise a warning flag. By drawing themselves into safe, lily-white strongholds, have Republicans inadvertently boxed themselves into an alternate universe that bears little resemblance to the rest of the country?
When thinking about that issue, one also has to consider demographic shifts that are taking place in this country. I saw this article the other day and thought it was pretty interesting. In light of that observation, it takes on quite the additional meaning.
http://news.yahoo.com/census-record-1-3-us-counties-now-dying-040238347.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — A record number of U.S. counties — more than 1 in 3 — are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs and build families elsewhere.
New 2012 census estimates released Thursday highlight the population shifts as the U.S. encounters its most sluggish growth levels since the Great Depression.
[...]
Other findings:
—Roughly 46 percent of rural counties just beyond the edge of metropolitan areas experienced natural decrease, compared to 17 percent of urban counties.
—As a whole, the population of non-metropolitan areas last year declined by 0.1 percent, compared with growth of 1 percent for large metro areas and 0.7 percent for small metropolitan areas.
By concentrating Democrats into urban areas and leaving rural areas as GOP territory, they are further limiting themselves on the number of votes they can reach and persuade.
They may be able to hold on to the House as long as they can control redistricting. As the population shifts, it seems that their hold on state governments won’t last. Neither will their hopes of controlling both houses of Congress and the White House. The GOP has an abysmal record with urban demographics, and as this country becomes more urbanized, their capacity to attract votes has the potential to be greatly diminished as a result.
JamVet
March 15th, 2013
1:36 pm
…Republicans inadvertently boxed themselves into an alternate universe that bears little resemblance to the rest of the country…
Segregation yesterday! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!!
Oscar
March 15th, 2013
1:37 pm
Simple. Districts should be drawn by independant committees without regard to past voting patterns.
JamVet
March 15th, 2013
1:38 pm
Fred, don’t you mean, Typefasternexttime?
Jefferson
March 15th, 2013
1:38 pm
Even a dog knows if he is kicked or tripped over.
Peadawg
March 15th, 2013
1:39 pm
The Grumpy Old men Party
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
1:40 pm
Kam: (of topic, sorry). The little one wants to go to Fogo tonight for her birthday. Of course being a spoiled little brat that’s where we are taking her (first time we will ever have to pay for her lol, she used to eat free there. The manager thought she was adorable and welll behaved the first time she came in at age 3 or 4 and kept comping her meal after she reached the age where they DO charge. New manager now). Anyway, I can take or leave their meat. Their salad bar is awesome, but the BEST thing is one of their deserts, Fogo de Chão Signature Papaya Cream. I was looking for a pic to post downstairs, where the topic wasn’t new lol), and found this instead. You need to try it. Hell EVERYONE needs to try it. Yes, even you Morality? One of these a day would probably give you a more positive outlook on life lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwSK9BrRcnw
Jay
March 15th, 2013
1:40 pm
Bro, you want an astounding fact?
The GOP-dominated Georgia Senate has an Urban Affairs Committee. It’s the only committee they allow to be chaired by a Democrat. But here’s the thing. Including the chair, all nine members of the committee are Dems.
No Republican even wanted to be on it.
DownInAlbany
March 15th, 2013
1:41 pm
Sigh..
Matti
March 15th, 2013
1:42 pm
Heh…. Look at their smug, narcissistic smirks. Politics is not for the impatient or weak of heart. I know it will take awhile, but I WILL see that ne’er-do-well, lying little Napoleonic cheater of a “businessman” (pictured above) tumble from that Senate seat he thinks he’s got all wrapped up. Oh, the naivete of jumping on the bandwagon of the long-standing paradigm! Didn’t learn much in the college from which his actual diploma seems to be in question, did he?
Sure, he’s a slick little tyrant who knows how to control a meeting, but at the end of the day, he’s said nothing beyond promises he is already unable to keep. He’ll need more than lifts in his shoes and a good “family man” shtick to move forward, and he doesn’t even have enough to hold the power he’s already grabbed by lying to those who don’t want for anything at the moment. I’ll be waiting patiently with some popcorn on hand for when it gets good.
JamVet
March 15th, 2013
1:42 pm
Who knows how long this Lily White GOP will be a problem for the nation?
My guess, not that much longer.
Why?
The Republican Party base is white, aging and dying off.
All we need are some strategically placed (but not gerrymandered!) death panels… (grin)
Brosephus™ - Browning America Since 1973
March 15th, 2013
1:45 pm
Damn Jay… That’s one that I didn’t know about. Talk about self-inflicted demise. Well, it couldn’t have happened to a better group.
Erwin's cat
March 15th, 2013
1:47 pm
Papaya cream…interesting…not sure they needed a 3:39 video for what could be described in a couple sentences…that’s 2 weekend experiments in the que (USinUK’s hummus)
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
1:48 pm
Fred
HOLY CRAP!
Lunch
$32.50 | (Salad Bar Only – $22.50)
Dinner
$49.50 | (Salad Bar Only – $24.50)
F. Sinkwich
March 15th, 2013
1:49 pm
“The GOP-dominated Georgia Senate has an Urban Affairs Committee. It’s the only committee they allow to be chaired by a Democrat. But here’s the thing. Including the chair, all nine members of the committee are Dems.
No Republican even wanted to be on it.”
They could have just done away with the committee entirely. I’m guessing the only business they conduct is raising taxes anyway.
Granny Godzilla
March 15th, 2013
1:50 pm
SO…GOP strategery fail? Who’d a thunk it?
Granny Godzilla
March 15th, 2013
1:52 pm
Off Topic but great photo of Trump talk at CPAC
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022511990
St Simons
March 15th, 2013
1:52 pm
Jeez man, I gots to speed up my hoveround. Yall done changed blogs.
I was just posting away to Fred, Morality, & everybody on the other one.
If you see a wooden indian on vacation, stop & say hi – it might be me..
alittlecommonsense
March 15th, 2013
1:54 pm
I love how you libs on this blog can break down any issue no matter how complex to a root cause of “evil Republicans”.
Just a couple of points for you to ponder. First, I have never seen any indication that those evil Republicans are any more likely to Gerrymander than Democrats are. The party in power tends to bend the rules to its own advantage – whether R or D.
Second, you have to consider the voting rights act which encourages drawing “black” districts in order to promote black representatives. If you broke up those black districts which vote 90% democrat, you could probably swing multiple districts from R to D. It’s not Republicans stopping this – it’s the voting rights act.
Nevermind all that – just keep hating on others who happen to have a different worldview than you do. It’s easier.
getalife
March 15th, 2013
1:54 pm
We are in the last throes of white power and the cons are scared to death.
I tried to tell them.
Jay
March 15th, 2013
1:58 pm
commonsense, I agree with you on both points.
mm
March 15th, 2013
2:01 pm
The cons won’t be happy until they achieve Apartheid here in the states.
li'l Aynie
March 15th, 2013
2:07 pm
Jay’s rogues gallery reminds me of the old-time used car salesmen, in the days of big DeSotos, Dodges, and Packard. Would you buy a used car from anyone of them?
JamVet
March 15th, 2013
2:07 pm
I tried to tell them.
Me three, brother.
The next six years are going to make the last six look like a walk in the park for them…
getalife
March 15th, 2013
2:11 pm
Jam,
All we can do is try.
I am not a fan of a rubber stamp congress but it looks like we are headed that way.
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
2:12 pm
I know it will take awhile, but I WILL see that ne’er-do-well, lying little Napoleonic cheater of a “businessman” (pictured above) tumble from that Senate seat he thinks he’s got all wrapped up.
I hate to say it but from where I am looking you just described all 36 of the men pictured above and more than likely the woman as well (except you said man LOL). Can you be more specific?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
2:14 pm
As a pastor at an Indiana megachurch, Jack Schaap persuaded a 17 year old girl to have sex with him by very creepily claiming it was all part of God’s plan. He wanted to put her on a “better path of living,” he said, adding “that’s what we call Righteousness,” letters provided by prosecutors reveal. It’s all very gross, but the most disturbing God-wants-you-to-bone-me moment may have come when Schaap wrote, “That is exactly what Christ desires for us. He wants to marry us + become eternal lovers!”
Yep, the church should be more involved in our daily lives.
stands for decibels
March 15th, 2013
2:19 pm
Jay, if you’re around, I can’t imagine why my post @ 2.17 is in moderation.
(Unless H-E-double-hockey-sticks is now a banned word…)
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
2:20 pm
HOLY CRAP!
Lunch
$32.50 | (Salad Bar Only – $22.50)
Dinner
$49.50 | (Salad Bar Only – $24.50)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And how much were wings and drinks last time we went out lol? Kids are half price and I’ll get the salad bar probably.
EC: Yeah but until I saw the video, I didn’t know what was in it lol. I’ll be making those two as well, although I’m waiting til USinUK posts her funky bread recipe for the hummus to sit on.
I have to more REALLY GOOD recipe sites if you ever want them. Ask me later, I’ve been off topic too much already for so early in the thread.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
March 15th, 2013
2:21 pm
It’s amazing to see how much Jay still fears conservatism.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
March 15th, 2013
2:22 pm
“Huge ratings for ‘BIBLE’ miniseries confound Hollywood…… ”
Of course it does ……….. Hollywood has no clue about mainstream America.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
March 15th, 2013
2:24 pm
“US to deploy more ground-based missile interceptors as North Korea steps up threats”
AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NO DRILL.
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
2:24 pm
It’s amazing to see how much Jay still fears conservatism.
It’s funny how much you twist the truth. I didn’t see any fear. Of course when I listen to the talk radio you love I hear the hosts ALWAYS talking about how afraid they are of this or that and how many of the callers start off by saying “I’m afraid….”
You have the wrong party of fear my friend. Scroll up, find the papya cream recipe up there. Make it and enjoy.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
March 15th, 2013
2:25 pm
“The cons won’t be happy until they achieve Apartheid here in the states.”
Hummmmm ……………. “Apartheid” from liberals ?
Maybe you are on to something !
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
2:26 pm
And how much were wings and drinks last time we went out lol?
Dinner alone is more than I paid for wings, a few beers and a one single malt Scotch.
Looks like a pretty cool place, and I’m disappointed that you say the meats are kinda so-so.
Do they just keep serving you until you say no mas?
Oh, yeah, like...
March 15th, 2013
2:26 pm
….the Dems don’t gerry mander at the drop of a hat, too…tsk, tsk, tsk -
And, jm, Jay proved his incompetence regarding math with this morning’s topic…
HDB
March 15th, 2013
2:27 pm
alittlecommonsense
March 15th, 2013
1:54 pm
Questions:
1) Would the Voting Rights Act have been necessary if conservatives hadn’t done so much to stymie the black political voice…past AND present!!??
2) Would the GOP be going through these issues if they had just remembered their HISTORY…in the the party was founded by abolitionist whites and freed blacks….and had become more INCLUSIVE?
3) Would the GOP finally admit that they had practiced…and continue to practice racial politics…starting with the “Southern Strategy”…just as Michael Steele, Lee Atwater, and Ken Mehlman tried to get the party to admit??
You can’t blame the law for creating an entity that the GOP persists in marginalizing!! Lest you forget, prior to 1964, the black vote was strongly GOP…until the conservatives took the party over……
stands for decibels
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
Hollywood has no clue about mainstream America.
Hollywood knows how to separate many billions of dollars every year from mainstream Americas.
If that’s having “no clue” I’d love to be 5% as “clueless” as that particular industry.
TBS
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
“Of course it does ……….. Hollywood has no clue about mainstream America.”
They are so far off that they only have a multi, multi billion dollar industry that caters directly to “mainstream America” (or however you want to define that)
You don’t believe it. Ride by the movie theaters near your home tonight.
Yes they have those who speak a bunch of gibberish, but there are CEOs, business owners and even those in “mainstream America” that speak gibberish all the time.
Ben
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
And Democrats have gerrymandered black people into their own districts to help guarantee minority representation. And what has that led to? Black Democrats getting elected that have absolutely nothing to offer anyone else. They have no appeal to anyone outside their gerrymandered group of black people, and they end up with no way to win Senate seats and other larger elections.
Basically the same thing you say the GOP is doing to itself is something the Democrats have done to black people for decades.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
Jay proved his incompetence regarding math with this morning’s topic…
Would that be election night Karl Rove math?
TBS
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
Damn stands
You beat me to it
Good one
williebkind
March 15th, 2013
2:30 pm
Jay is right we should elect someone by the color of their skin to make sure we have an equal amount of color. That is what our forefathers said right Jay?
DannyX
March 15th, 2013
2:30 pm
“Of course it does ……….. Hollywood has no clue about mainstream America.”
What is stopping people from making the types of films you think mainstream America wants?
Why do conservatives think they have an entitlement to liberal Hollywood?
mm
March 15th, 2013
2:30 pm
“It’s amazing to see how much Jay still fears conservatism.”
Please tell me what is conservative about the republican party. We all need a good laugh.
Jefferson
March 15th, 2013
2:31 pm
Numbers you are the clueless one, wake up… the train is leaving the station.
williebkind
March 15th, 2013
2:31 pm
Ben
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
Good statement and I agree!
Matti
March 15th, 2013
2:33 pm
Yes, the white power thing is dying like the dinosaur it is, but I think racism, racial bias, and the “race card” are often tools for the bigger agenda, which is about money. I’m not saying racism — and deliberate efforts to restrict voting and representation based on race — no longer exist. I’m saying that our representatives belong to those whose agenda is about financial power, corporate monopolies, and relief from regulation, responsibility, and taxes. Do you think they care if little “white trash” kids go hungry? Cracker, please…
Money begets money, now more than ever when corporate profits and CEO pay soar, while workers still scrape by and are told to do more with less. Big business squashes small business and little people, and use the government they bought to do it.
Those who really run things don’t change with our silly little elections, and they own whomever we elect. Look at those faces up there. Do they care what YOU need from your state government? Only if you’re fabulously rich, have more than 5,000 people in your employ, or can deliver a voting block. The color they really care about is GREEN.
DannyX
March 15th, 2013
2:34 pm
Its amazing how these blogs can go berserk with screaming about blacks only voting for blacks, which of course is far from the truth. Its obvious white Republicans only vote for whites.
Hey Republicans, why do you only vote for white people?
Jackie
March 15th, 2013
2:36 pm
A prime example of the topic would be the state of Michigan.
The legislator wrote a law that allows the governor to remove any elected official, even suspend the charter of the city at his discretion. With that power, the governor appointed people to run cities and towns and ;removed elected officials. The voters opened a petition and had a referendum to overturn the vote, which they did.
The newly elected legislator reintroduced the law with new amendments that does not allow referendum. The governor used the law to take over 10 Michigan cities and towns that comprised more than 50% of the minority voters in the state.
The governor used his power to appoint an administrator and removed all the elected officials of the city of Pontiac. The administrator sold the Silverdome for $530,000 without an appraisal from anyone. Real estate professionals informed the administrator that the plumbing in the building was worth more than $530,000. Then, the administrator tried to partner with the person he sold the building to to bring a casino into the Silverdome.
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
2:36 pm
Kam: The meats are great and yes, it’s a hog trough, all you can eat. But for THAT kind of money, I would rather have more of a “chef” meal. I can make all those meats on my green egg. I’m odd that way. I’ve been to Ruth’s Chris, Rathurn’s Bones, Chops, Parkers, ect……….. While the steaks are good, I just don’t want to pay that much for a damn steak. The salad bar at Fogo is unique in that they have things we normally don’t (It’s Brazilian).
The meat is cooked over wood fires (parilla’s I think they call their grill), and they give you what looks like a drink coaster with a red side and a green side. Many Servers circle the dining room with skewers of the different meats hot off the grill. If you have the green side of your coaster up, they stop at your table to give you what you want, one of seven or 8 different types of meat. You looked at the menu, you saw what they have. My wife and daughter LOVE the house special, I don’t know what it’s called. The daughter can eat her weight in it (and will lol).
For fine dining (or Buckhead dining) the price isn’t bad. It’s just not I would choose, but it’s not my birthday is it?
MANGLER
March 15th, 2013
2:38 pm
Leave it to our wonderful party system to take one of the simplest ideas, the freedom to vote, and turn it into a complicated mess of rules and conditions that pit neighbor against neighbor. People think along the lines of “my vote will cancel out yours” or “this district will cancel out yours” or “that city doesn’t know our needs” or “our guy has to beat their guy”, as opposed to any issues or progress.
HDB
March 15th, 2013
2:42 pm
Ben
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
Problems with your analysis are these:
1) No black person has ever been elected from a predominately-Republican district, How would you expect to be elected from a district that doesn’t want you in it??
2) A Black Republican in Georgia could never get state wide appeal…and any Democrat in Georgia would immediately be castigated by the predominately Republican electorate…
3) Black Democrats have worked across the aisle with their Republican contemporaries, but the reverse is seldom true……
4) Republicans have done much to marginalize urban areas, particularly Atlanta, but are doing everything possible to take over certain systems (MARTA, for instance)……
5) As stated before, Republicans have done so much in an attempt to marginalize black/minority voting power; please indicate how black political power is to be expressed…particularly since Republicans won’t campaign in majority-minority communities!!
Democrats aren’t trying to marginalize nor dilute minority power……….that’s a Republican idea….
getalife
March 15th, 2013
2:42 pm
Meanwhile, our President is pushing energy research.
HDB
March 15th, 2013
2:46 pm
williebkind
March 15th, 2013
2:30 pm
“Jay is right we should elect someone by the color of their skin to make sure we have an equal amount of color. That is what our forefathers said right Jay?”
Lest you forget that America’s forefathers didn’t consider minorities and women as HUMANS…only rich, white landowners had the right to the American “dream”………
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
2:50 pm
…but it’s not my birthday is it?
A most salient point.
But I’m sympathetic to the views of the birthday girl. If I’m gonna spend $50+, I’m gonna want to eat some grilled meat.
Yeah I like to grill, but trying to put together that kind of variety would be costly and wasteful.
(I might even try the lamb)
weetamoe
March 15th, 2013
2:51 pm
Look at DeKalb county. Whoever gerrymandered that and those is guilty of a capital crime. My birthday meal choice would be a chourico grinder and coffee cabinet. Were that not available I would ask the Republican Senator from Maine to send me some of the lobster, those Aroostook potato chips, and a slice of that Maine blueberry pie with a scoop of Maine dairy-made ice cream. Obama’s taster does not know what he is missing. mm mm mm!
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
2:53 pm
Whoever gerrymandered that and those is guilty of a capital crime.
Well, seeing as how conservatives have controlled the Ga. State legislature since, well forever — I would contend it was conservative gerrymandering.
Matti
March 15th, 2013
2:54 pm
Jackie @ 2:36,
The above pictured men have begun the process of doing that to Fulton County. This has taken a back seat in the news to the Dekalb School Board fracas, but they’re literally (right now) taking the first steps in the process to take over Fulton County completely. Once these measures are in place, it may be too late to stop the ones that will follow. Just a head’s up, y’all.
HDB
March 15th, 2013
2:57 pm
Ben
March 15th, 2013
2:28 pm
….also thought about this: examine the hostility that North Fulton has against South Fulton…and how that plays out!! North Fulton thinks they are being ignored and they want to create another predominately white county…whereas their requests for services always seem to supercede the requests from South Fulton…..
Jackie
March 15th, 2013
2:58 pm
@Matti
We have already seen Governor Deal “purge” other elected officials; what is to stop that same action from happening across the rest of the state and the rest of the country, for that matter?
Aren’t these the same so-called conservatives that are always pompously stating “I believe in the Constitution?”
St Simons
March 15th, 2013
2:58 pm
a cool exercise for somebody with the time to do it, would be to
calculate the tipping point of this phenomenon, where no amount
of cheating, vote suppression, and gerrymandering can weasel
themselves ANY false power, at which they disintegrate like
dinosaurs at Chixulub.
You know, so we know when the par-tay can start.
Cater-ers need to know that kind of thing.
You don’t want da margarittas gettin too warm, mon
HDB
March 15th, 2013
2:59 pm
Matti
March 15th, 2013
2:54 pm
Yep……we see it coming…..
weetamoe
March 15th, 2013
3:00 pm
So it was a *conservative* crime. Question beg often? Knee sore from jerking? Won any medals for making assumptions?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
3:02 pm
So it was a *conservative* crime.
I never claimed it was a “crime”, that was you.
Won any medals for making assumptions?
Jackie
March 15th, 2013
3:03 pm
@weetamoe
If you mean the unconstitutional actions taken by those governors and legislators, yes, it is a crime. If they can’t win openly, they choose to win by any means necessary. A “legislative pencil whipping” works well, under the color of law.
JamVet
March 15th, 2013
3:06 pm
…are often tools for the bigger agenda, which is about money.
I agree, Matti.
Mean green trumps white, black, brown, yellow and red.
Erwin's cat
March 15th, 2013
3:08 pm
Meanwhile, our President is pushing energy research.
at a time when we are poised to become the top oil producer in @ 5yrs
getalife
March 15th, 2013
3:08 pm
Who cares about the gop.
Crank up the music.
TBS
March 15th, 2013
3:10 pm
EC @ 3:08
How does one negate the other?
Can’t we continue to do both?
getalife
March 15th, 2013
3:10 pm
cat,
He is trying to get off oil:
“Obama: ‘Energy Security Trust’ Pushes Green Research, Natural Gas And ‘Clean Coal’”;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/obama-energy-security-trust_n_2884114.html
Long term goal.
TaxPayer
March 15th, 2013
3:11 pm
First, I have never seen any indication that those evil Republicans are any more likely to Gerrymander than Democrats are. The party in power tends to bend the rules to its own advantage – whether R or D.
What! The holier-than-thou Grand old Party of Hypocrites bends the rules! Tell me it ain’t so! Where’s the fainting couch. Then again, given that the new age Republican party of the south are immigrants from the old Dixiecrat/Democrat party of the south, I cannot say I’m surprised.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
March 15th, 2013
3:12 pm
Jackie, what is occurring in MI is just offensive on every level. For those who consistently scream about the intent of the founding fathers, it sure does seem that “suspending the Constitution” is okay in certain limited areas of MI.
Jackie
March 15th, 2013
3:15 pm
@Keep
The so-called conservatives in PA, WI, OH and IN are looking at the MI law to implement that law in “their” state(s).
Jay
March 15th, 2013
3:15 pm
“Jay is right we should elect someone by the color of their skin to make sure we have an equal amount of color.”
Look again at those photos, willie. You think that happened by accident? You think it’s just an accident that every Republican-voting Senate district in the state produced a white office-holder?
As Zell Miller used to say, that turtle didn’t end up on that fencepost by himself. Somebody meant to put him there.
DownInAlbany
March 15th, 2013
3:17 pm
Jay
March 15th, 2013
3:15 pm
As Zell Miller used to say, that turtle didn’t end up on that fencepost by himself. Somebody meant to put him there.
I’ve heard the same analogy applied to Obama. If the shoe fits…
stands for decibels
March 15th, 2013
3:17 pm
calculate the tipping point of this phenomenon, where no amount
of cheating, vote suppression, and gerrymandering can weasel
themselves ANY false power
That’s easy. Conceivably, so long as you have ~26% support, you can continue to control a legislature. Of course you need an executive (Governor) who won’t veto these redistricting plans.
That’s what rational folk are up against. Nobody said this would be easy. (Particularly when you have minority control enshrined in our stupid Senate, which is an anti-democratic, international embarrassment.)
indigo
March 15th, 2013
3:19 pm
It’s clear that the Republican lilly-white strategy has about run it’s course and is fast becomming a clear and present danger for any future elections.
This gives the Party two options:
1. They can come to their senses and move towards the center, which might bring in much needed minority support.
2. They can keep the crazed Tea Party zealots in charge and continue on as though nothing has changed.
I’m betting on number 2.
Erwin's cat
March 15th, 2013
3:19 pm
Can’t we continue to do both?
He is trying to get off oil
Sure we can do both…but when it’s economically feasible….don’t get me wrong, I’m all for research but it will be a long while before it pays off…it’s a great long view…but a very long view at best…I’d rather we invest in research that will have a more immediate ROI
Jackie
March 15th, 2013
3:21 pm
The problem, as I see it, is those who vote for people that are currently in many of those legislators. To make this unlawful action stand, it requires a Governor and Supreme Court of that state to participate in the rape of the Constitution.
barking frog
March 15th, 2013
3:22 pm
For years every minority in the country could be ignored
and still win elections, except for one, women. Women
are a legally created minority that is actually a majority.
Republicans were able to divide that minority for a long
time on moral grounds but that has changed. They
cannot gerrymander that away so they have lost the
ladies and with them the political center for a long time.
Without the political center they cannot win the Presidency.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
3:23 pm
I’d rather we invest in research that will have a more immediate ROI
The same excuse used 40 years ago when the President Carter warned about petro dollars funding terrorists
RexDogma
March 15th, 2013
3:24 pm
Our State voted say 53 to 47 Romney vs Obama. That should be our Legislature make up. Not this ridiculous 78 to 22 % rep vs Dem.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
3:25 pm
“then” President Carter
TBS
March 15th, 2013
3:25 pm
EC
Good point. I would just counter that as long as fossil fuels and natural gas are more affordable, the reasoning will always be to kick it down the road for another time.
I’m fully aware that some of the decisions that have been made regarding “new / cleaner energy” were not the most prudent to say the least, however between private industry and government I am sure we have enough horse and brainpower in this country to do both in a sensible manner.
Whether it gets done in a sensible manner is surely another story indeed……
TBS
March 15th, 2013
3:27 pm
“Our State voted say 53 to 47 Romney vs Obama. That should be our Legislature make up. Not this ridiculous 78 to 22 % rep vs Dem”
Nope. The state should be what it is because the voters of this state wanted it that way. Granted the Republicans could be doing a better job on the demographic trends that even Stevie Wonder can see, but the make up currently is what the voters voted for at this time.
TaxPayer
March 15th, 2013
3:29 pm
That bunch of faces looks inbred.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
3:34 pm
Muzik SHEETZ!
alittlecommonsense
March 15th, 2013
3:38 pm
HDB: 1) Would the Voting Rights Act have been necessary if conservatives hadn’t done so much to stymie the black political voice…past AND present!!??
Without debating your premise, it’s an irrelevant question. I wasn’t voicing an opinion on the voting rights act pro or con. I was just stating that it contributes to gerrymandering.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
March 15th, 2013
3:40 pm
Well, dang! We finally get a little power in this state and take over the U.S. House and these people are blasting us for keeping in power by using a few tricks. And they want us to let more of Those People get elected. Well, I got news for you: Those People never voted for us for some reason. Even tho we had Parts of the Stove Herman Cain running—you know. Lifter Leg and Poker.
There’s just no satisfying some people. Bring on the music. I can see right now this post ain’t going no place good for us.
alittlecommonsense
March 15th, 2013
3:42 pm
“Our State voted say 53 to 47 Romney vs Obama. That should be our Legislature make up. Not this ridiculous 78 to 22 % rep vs Dem”
And the country voted 51% Obama, 49% Romney. So I think Romney should be president 49% of the time.
Erwin's cat
March 15th, 2013
3:50 pm
The same excuse used 40 years ago when the President Carter warned about petro dollars funding terrorists
so he created the department of energy..which so far has only created a couple hundred thousand jobs in DC at a cost of several billion dollars…I get what you guys are saying, but alternative energy will only become affordable through the free market IMHO…like I said, I’m just looking for a better ROI from our tax dollars…besides isn’t this corporate welfare?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
4:01 pm
…but alternative energy will only become affordable through the free market IMHO…
Germany says, “What?”
GT
March 15th, 2013
4:09 pm
Gerrymandering is like segregation it makes a mockery of the whole democratic function of our government. It always amazes me that the right wants smaller government but what little government they leave they want to control completely with a minority position. In other words it is not small government they want it is control of government with a small minority. The communist operate somewhat the same, one party system.
Simple Truths
March 15th, 2013
4:10 pm
I have a solution to the gerrymandering. Form a team of me, Peadawg, Brosephus, and Redneck Convert to draw all district boundaries.
I’ll supply the map.
Peadawg supplies the ruler
Brosephus supplies a compass.
Redneck provides the beer.
A good time will be had by all.
Welcome to the Occupation
March 15th, 2013
4:19 pm
Oh my god is conservatism a cult of imbeciles.
That’s all.
That Black Guy
March 15th, 2013
4:43 pm
DannyX
March 15th, 2013
2:34 pm
Its amazing how these blogs can go berserk with screaming about blacks only voting for blacks, which of course is far from the truth. Its obvious white Republicans only vote for whites.
Hey Republicans, why do you only vote for white people?
_______________________________________________
Rubio, Cruz, West, JC Watts says “Hey, watch where you swing that broad brush”
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 15th, 2013
4:55 pm
Rubio, Cruz, West, JC Watts says “Hey, watch where you swing that broad brush”
“Excuse me while I whip this out.”
– Thomas “Bart” Jefferson
LUCIFER
March 15th, 2013
5:57 pm
You reap what you sow.
Fred ™
March 15th, 2013
7:50 pm
JC Watts says: He was later hired as a political commentator by CNN and following the 2006 House election, Watts argued the Republican party had lost seats because it failed to address the needs of urban areas and did not offer a positive message. He stated: “We lost our way, pure and simple.”
In 2008, Watts announced he was developing a cable news network with the help of Comcast, focusing on a black audience,and that he considered voting for Barack Obama, criticizing the Republican party for not practicing outreach to the black community.
vinny
March 16th, 2013
2:48 am
Welcome to the weenie blog- Let the bedwetting begin!!
Fred
March 16th, 2013
10:57 am
Poor Bookman. Still bellyaching about the GOP controlled house. The liberal utopia is so close yet so far away. Dems have no chance at regaining the house and you fruits on the left know it. If you take liberal bastions such as California and New York out of the equation Republicans have a lead in house votes of almost 55%. So there. Your stats are debunked and useless because like most lib’s you have no problem with certain states dictating what happens in the rest of the country. By the way. Who has the most Senators that are minorities? The GOP. Why is it the dems have no minority leaders within there party when they are certainly in the majority? Remember obama only got 39% of the white vote. One would think the dem party would be dominated by minorities being in charge except for of course his token role in the White House.
Fred
March 16th, 2013
10:58 am
There. Fixed it… LOL….
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 16th, 2013
11:42 am
Welcome to the Occupation:
Oh my GOD is the dem party full of old white men. Reid, Durbin, Leahy, Franken, and Hoyer. Do they have any young minority leaders except for the White House puppet of course.
Welcome to the Occupation
March 16th, 2013
12:45 pm
Kamchak: “Oh my GOD is the dem party full of old white men. Reid, Durbin, Leahy, Franken, and Hoyer”
That all you can come up with to scour the Democrats?
Man, I can do better than that with both hands tied behind my back.
The Democrats are a complete and utter fraud, led by the biggest fraud of all, Obama. Coming up with things to flay them with isn’t exactly hard.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
March 16th, 2013
12:57 pm
Welcome to the Occupation:
I agree the dem party is a complete fraud. Especially to minorities. Its sad that they want to keep them down by handing out freebies instead of encouraging hard work for their rewards. I got a feeling Hispanic Americans are going to catch on since their traditional values align much more with Republicans than dems. But you must admit on a national level there’s not a single minority candidate in site for the dems.
Welcome to the Occupation
March 16th, 2013
1:36 pm
Kamchak, We agree that the Democratic party is a fraud, but coming from opposite directions. I feel that way because it is a party of big business and Wall Street big finance which for that very reason cannot afford to be any more honest about its real objectives than the GOP can, but for electoral purposes must pose as acting in the interests of the middle class ( it doesn’t ever bother to appeal directly to the poor any more, American politics being so far to the right now that it goes without saying that the poor don’t matter so aren’t worth risking backlash by speaking up for).
But in Barack Obama the financiers who run the Democratic party have hit the jackpot. He has been the absolutely heaven-sent solution for them, having flawlessly executed his role as the Democratic “adult in the room”, with its arm constantly being twisted, to the “stonewalling” GOP. The whole thing is just theater of course, as both “sides” essentially agree on 98% of the austerity agenda which is just now getting ramped up for full implementation. And the biggest boon of all with Barack Obama, the maraschino cherry, is that in one stroke he has managed to neutralize the one group that has traditionally been the biggest thorn in the side of the establishment and the engine of social protest and change — the African American community — who now have been effectively rendered mute and inert, unable or unwilling to mount any challenge to policies that would have had them in upheaval under a Republican president but is now acquiesced to passively because of the black man in the White House.
It’s a stroke of genius on the ruling class’ part, one that has worked out surely beyond its wildest dreams. A win-win scenario for them almost beyond belief.
So if you think they will not be trying to repeat that formula again in the future — whether it’s in Cory Booker or Juan Castro — you’ve very mistaken.
Catlady
March 17th, 2013
6:48 pm
I am absolutely astounded that there is only one female face! Where are the women? At home baking cookies?
David Tanner
March 22nd, 2013
11:20 am
“I’ll leave it to the voters of Coffman’s district to decide the sincerity of his conversion.”
What an odd statement. Was the same standard used when Barack Obama’s view on gay marriage “evolved?”
Maybe Coffman should be commended for actually representing the views of his district –the old one from Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2013 — and the new one from Jan 2013 to present. It is refreshing to see an elected official actually working for his constituents and not being an ideolgue no matter what the make up of his constituency is.