Warner Todd Huston
Texas redistricting: forget about 'justice,' Obama's DOJ is all about politics
By Warner Todd Huston
Obama's Department Of Justice claims that Texas redistricting is somehow "unfair" because Democrats have lost power. Therefore the DOJ is going to take the state to court over its new map. Yet, in Illinois, the Democrats have decimated Republican districts and slighted several Hispanic districts, yet the DOJ has turned a blind eye to pleas for redress there. This all tends to prove that Obama's DOJ is less about "fairness" and more about politics. Sadly, Obama is playing politics with justice.
Only days after his inauguration in 2009 President Barack Obama warned Republicans that he wasn't much interested in what they had to say on policy. In a meeting with congressional leaders he told Republicans "elections have consequences" and "I won." Obama apparently wanted to stress that those that win elections should set the agenda and run the table. To echo Rep. Joe Wilson, Obama lied.
Take Texas, for instance. Thanks to two years of one failed Democrat policy after another and after two years of a sustained assault on American values, an attack on our business community, capitalism, and an avalanche of regulations quashing any chance of an economic recovery, the political landscape of Teas turned a deep, deep red in the 2010 midterm elections.
Because "elections have consequences" Texas Republicans had the power to control the redistricting process and, unsurprisingly, the new map favors Republicans even more than it did to help the GOP win the right to remake the map.
But "I won" doesn't seem to satisfy Obama when the "I" happens to be anyone other than himself and apparently elections only "have consequences" when it favors him and his far left ideas because suddenly the Department of Justice has decided that Texas Republicans should not be allowed to control redistricting like every other winning party has since the *early days of the Republic.
Obama's DOJ is basing its attempt to intervene in Texas redistricting on claims that Hispanic voters are not being properly represented. More likely its that Democrats are further being cut out of power.
But, even if we were to take Mr. "I Won" at his word and his DOJ is only interested in making sure that a party in power won't disenfranchise Hispanics a similar complaint in Illinois has fallen on deaf ears. In Illinois the Democrats have a hammerlock on power and have similarly redistricted the state to seriously harm GOP districts. GOP leaders and Hispanic leaders in Obama's homestate also say that Hispanics have been given short shrift.
After having gained five new GOP congressmen in the 2010 midterms Illinois Democrats want to take away the will of the voters by so altering the districts that GOP votes will be dissipated to the point of nonexistence. Due to reapportionment the state lost one House seat anyway. But the Democrats also want to materially damage all other GOP gains, as small as they were.
Along with GOP voters, Hispanics also seem to have lost out. Hispanics did not gain the influence they were promised in Illinois. Hence the lawsuit.
So, where is the Obama DOJ for Illinois? Nowhere to be seen. And what is the difference between Illinois and Texas? Only that in Texas where Obama is ready to take everyone to court, the Republicans were the ones that proved that "elections have consequences." In Illinois it is Democrats high on the "I won" meter.
Yep. It's all about politics.
*After all, the word "Gerrymandering" came from the name of our fifth vice president, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.
© Warner Todd Huston
September 21, 2011
Obama's Department Of Justice claims that Texas redistricting is somehow "unfair" because Democrats have lost power. Therefore the DOJ is going to take the state to court over its new map. Yet, in Illinois, the Democrats have decimated Republican districts and slighted several Hispanic districts, yet the DOJ has turned a blind eye to pleas for redress there. This all tends to prove that Obama's DOJ is less about "fairness" and more about politics. Sadly, Obama is playing politics with justice.
Only days after his inauguration in 2009 President Barack Obama warned Republicans that he wasn't much interested in what they had to say on policy. In a meeting with congressional leaders he told Republicans "elections have consequences" and "I won." Obama apparently wanted to stress that those that win elections should set the agenda and run the table. To echo Rep. Joe Wilson, Obama lied.
Take Texas, for instance. Thanks to two years of one failed Democrat policy after another and after two years of a sustained assault on American values, an attack on our business community, capitalism, and an avalanche of regulations quashing any chance of an economic recovery, the political landscape of Teas turned a deep, deep red in the 2010 midterm elections.
Because "elections have consequences" Texas Republicans had the power to control the redistricting process and, unsurprisingly, the new map favors Republicans even more than it did to help the GOP win the right to remake the map.
But "I won" doesn't seem to satisfy Obama when the "I" happens to be anyone other than himself and apparently elections only "have consequences" when it favors him and his far left ideas because suddenly the Department of Justice has decided that Texas Republicans should not be allowed to control redistricting like every other winning party has since the *early days of the Republic.
Obama's DOJ is basing its attempt to intervene in Texas redistricting on claims that Hispanic voters are not being properly represented. More likely its that Democrats are further being cut out of power.
But, even if we were to take Mr. "I Won" at his word and his DOJ is only interested in making sure that a party in power won't disenfranchise Hispanics a similar complaint in Illinois has fallen on deaf ears. In Illinois the Democrats have a hammerlock on power and have similarly redistricted the state to seriously harm GOP districts. GOP leaders and Hispanic leaders in Obama's homestate also say that Hispanics have been given short shrift.
After having gained five new GOP congressmen in the 2010 midterms Illinois Democrats want to take away the will of the voters by so altering the districts that GOP votes will be dissipated to the point of nonexistence. Due to reapportionment the state lost one House seat anyway. But the Democrats also want to materially damage all other GOP gains, as small as they were.
Along with GOP voters, Hispanics also seem to have lost out. Hispanics did not gain the influence they were promised in Illinois. Hence the lawsuit.
So, where is the Obama DOJ for Illinois? Nowhere to be seen. And what is the difference between Illinois and Texas? Only that in Texas where Obama is ready to take everyone to court, the Republicans were the ones that proved that "elections have consequences." In Illinois it is Democrats high on the "I won" meter.
Yep. It's all about politics.
*After all, the word "Gerrymandering" came from the name of our fifth vice president, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.
© Warner Todd Huston
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