Gerrymandering — the dark art of shaping legislative districts to give one party an electoral edge—gave Republicans an outsized advantage in races for the U.S. House and state legislatures in 2016, according to an analysis by the Associated Press published Sunday.

Republican candidates had other advantages, the AP found, from a larger number of incumbents to a voter base spread over more of the country rather than concentrated in cities. Even taking those into consideration, however, AP’s analysis found that gerrymandering handed the GOP a decisive advantage.

“The outcome was already cooked in, if you will, because of the way the districts were drawn,” John McGlennon, a professor of government and public policy at the College of William and Mary and a Democratic politician, told the Associated Press.

A report earlier this year by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University came to similar conclusions. That analysis looked only at U.S. House races, while the AP analysis also includes state legislative elections.

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WASHINGTON — YOU know who is really sick and tired of Donald Trump winning, to the point where they beg, “Please, Mr. President, sir, it’s too much”?

Democrats.

The Democrats just got skunked four to nothing in races they excitedly thought they could win because everyone they hang with hates Trump.

If Trump is the Antichrist, as they believe, then Georgia was going to be a cakewalk, and Nancy Pelosi was going to be installed as speaker before the midterms by acclamation. But it turned into another soul-sucking disappointment.

“It’s Trump four and us zero,” says the Democratic congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio. “I don’t want to admit that. When it comes out of my mouth, it bothers me. But Trump does robo calls. He tweets. He talks about the races. He motivates his base, and he moves the needle, and that’s a problem for us. Guys, we’re still doing something wrong here because a) he’s president and b) we’re still losing to his candidates.”......Read More

Donald Trump’s election may have stunned us all, but it shouldn’t have. There were plenty of signals that regions of the country on whose support Democrats had long counted were in economic collapse. And like most of us, the Democrats failed to see them.           

In May 2016, the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) released a study—“The New Map of Economic Growth and Recovery”—that made no discernible impact on progressive discourse or Democrats’ strategy. But, like the Angus Deaton and Anne Case studies on rising death rates within the white working class—which did enter progressive discourse but also had no impact on Democrats’ strategy—it sure as hell should have.......Read More

Joseph Turner has figured out a way to take out the two things he seems to hate above all else – sanctuary cities and taxes – in one fell swoop, no looking back.                                                                         

And though he’s selling his idea as a tax relief effort for the low-income residents of the various cities he’s getting ready to target, he is happy to tell you that it’s really all about punishing them for protecting their undocumented immigrants.                                                                                                                                                                      

“Sanctuary cities by definition allow lawlessness to take place,” said Turner, founder and executive director of the nationalist American Children First, which invites all those who agree with its masthead of unapologetic “American exceptionalism” to donate to its grass-roots campaigns. “Our politicians are importing millions of illegal aliens and refugees – many of whom do not share our American values and ethos. Many of whom come here simply to better their own lives without a care or thought toward making America better.” ......Read More

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein turned 84 on Thursday.                                  

As the oldest serving senator in Congress notches another birthday, questions continue to swirl about her political future. Feinstein has not yet publicly announced if she will seek another six-year term next year. She was first elected in 1992.                                                                                               

At least among expected California voters, age may be a factor in a re-election bid. In a poll released in April, 52 percent of voters said she should stay out of the race. A mention of her age increased the naysayers to 62 percent. The poll was conducted months after Feinstein’s office disclosed that she had a pacemaker installed “out of an abundance of caution.” She’s also become a target of the more liberal branch of her own Democratic party.....Read More

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered a defiant message Thursday to those Democrats calling for her ouster following a string of special-election defeats: Bring it on.                                       

“When it comes to personal ambition and having fun on TV, have your fun,” Pelosi said during a press briefing in the Capitol, referring to her detractors making the cable news rounds.                                                                                                                          

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered a defiant message Thursday to those Democrats calling for her ouster following a string of special-election defeats: Bring it on.                                                                                                                                             

“When it comes to personal ambition and having fun on TV, have your fun,” Pelosi said during a press briefing in the Capitol, referring to her detractors making the cable news rounds..,. Read More

Recriminations have begun flying among Democrats in the wake of stinging special election defeats in Georgia and South Carolina on Tuesday, which may not bode well for the party’s efforts to win back the House in 2018.                                                                                        

Democratic lawmakers and political operatives are venting at just about everything. But the latest target of their frustration over failing to wrest a seemingly winnable district in Georgia appears to be House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)......Read More

The state’s population is still booming, and Hispanic Texans are driving a large portion of that growth.                                                                     

New population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show that just over half of Texas’ population increase since 2010 can be attributed to a rapidly growing Hispanic community and its expanding presence in nearly every corner of the state.                                                                           

As of July 2016, the Texas population nearly reached 27.9 million — up from 25.1 million in 2010. More than 1.4 million of that 2.7 million increase was among Hispanic Texans. Meanwhile, the white population only increased by about 444,000 people.....Read More

Why haven’t we legalised marijuana already? It’s a question brought to mind after reading Fairfax crime writer John Sylvester’s recent reporton Melbourne as, in the words of assistant commissioner (crime) Steve Fontana, “the engine room of the country’s cannabis industry”.                                                                                    

Sylvester takes the reader behind the scenes of the old-style anti-pot crusade being waged by Fontana and his men, as “detectives from the Drug Taskforce […hit] crop houses at a record rate”......Read More

Over 140,000 ballots have already been cast in the Georgia congressional race Tuesday in which Democrat Jon Ossoff is looking to flip a decades-held Republican seat and defeat GOP opponent Karen Handel — and there are some slightly positive signs for the Democrat.                                                                                                              

As of June 19, 140,510 votes (a quarter of all registered voters in the district) have been cast. This number is more than double the number of early votes in the April 18 runoff election (58,825) and approaches the number of early voters for the 2016 presidential race last November (195,852)...Read More

According to Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, Governor Andrew Cuomo is ignoring the Hispanic Community when it comes to nominating appointees for key positions in New York State.                       

In his morning email, What You Should Know, Sen. Díaz says “it is important to know that out of the 108 nominations Governor Andrew Cuomo has sent to the Senate for approval, only five (5!) are Hispanic.”      

“What is even more disturbing is that out of those five, two people, Fernando Ferrer and Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez (sic), are re-appointments (the MTA Board). In other words, since those two have already been placed in positions for years, the Senate is being asked to approve only three new Hispanics nominees out of 108.” [In a text exchange, Sen. Díaz said he named Ms. Cortés-Vázquez  in error. He meant Rossana Rossado.]....Read More

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Georgia’s special election will be a nail-biter all the way to the finish line Tuesday, as President Trump looms large over an election that has huge stakes for both Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2018 midterms.                                 

Democrats have zeroed in on the suburban Atlanta district as their best chance this year to flip a House seat and are looking to Jon Ossoff to be the face of the anti-Trump resistance. But if                                         

Ossoff comes up short, his loss will deal a major blow to their newfound momentum and political activism.

The stakes are just as high for the GOP. If it loses the seat left open by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Trump will likely shoulder the blame and Republicans could start defecting from his agenda.....Read More

Our names are Jassary and Chris, and we are high school seniors in Texas. While most people our age are worried about doing well in school or going to prom, we spend most days worried that our parents and loved ones will be deported. And while that fear has always been there, it’s about to get a lot worse.                                                                                                                    

In response to Trump’s executive order on immigration, the state of Texas is considering a bill that would punish cities which choose to provide sanctuary to undocumented people – people like our parents. It would require law enforcement to tell Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they encounter someone who is undocumented, and hold them until ICE can apprehend them.....Read More