Governor condemns Texas effort to redraw maps to pick up more seats and says Democrats should respond in kind

Seeking to offset a Republican plan to pick up congressional seats in Texas, California Democrats say they are prepared to redraw the state’s 52 congressional districts in a longshot and controversial effort to pick up Democratic seats.

Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a likely presidential candidate in 2028, has been leading the threat in recent days. And Democratic members of California’s delegation in the US House appear to be on board.

“We want our gavels back,” Representative Mark Takano, a California Democrat, told Punchbowl News. “That’s what this is about.” Democrats hold 43 of California’s 52 seats and reportedly believe they can pick up an additional five to seven seats by drawing new maps.

  • BigFig@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    25
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 hours ago

    Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a likely presidential candidate in 2028…

    • fluxion@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      11 hours ago

      There are only like 3 people in the democratic party who’ve convinced me they have a pair of nutts and he’s one of them. I’m sick of these pushovers.

      • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        24
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        10 hours ago

        Newsom is as neoliberal as it gets. He’s only governor of California because the alternatives were always much, much worse. You do not want him in the White House.

        • Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          10 hours ago

          What do you think would be a terrible policy direction he would go for? Will he continue the destruction of the middle class? (That is a real question, not some gotcha thingy) I know (?) he is somehow connected to the Getty family. I really can’t think of a upper level Democrat (or Republican ?!) besides AOC, and maybe Walz, who is openly defying the way Republicans apparently want to go down. I am kind of astonished Kamala basically disappeared from the political landscape. I try to be informed but there are certainly things flying below my radar and I would be glad to hear some different perspectives.

      • MangioneDontMiss@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        8 hours ago

        he says a alot but does very little. In fact, what has he actually done? He’s trying to fool you and its working. You want someone who is actually going to do something you need to look at other people like AOC or David Hogg.

    • N0t_5ure@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      27
      ·
      13 hours ago

      Honestly, I think he’s just a political opportunist, with no real convictions. He sets his sails with the direction the wind is blowing. He’s nominally a democrat, because that is the prevailing party in California, but I guarantee he’d flip if the political calculus were in favor of doing so.

      • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        14
        ·
        12 hours ago

        That’s a good thing. A politicians job is to represent their constituents. If the people want a certain thing by majority, the politician should try to make it happen, with some exceptions of course.

        • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          10 hours ago

          My elected officials can win my vote by having morals and ideals which are compatible with mine. Changing your position when it’s convenient is decidedly not a quality I value in a leader

          • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            9 hours ago

            Again the will of the people should be followed. California has the largest population of republicans in the country. As the governor he has to represent those people as well. Not everything is blue versus red. That’s the whole mentality that got us in this mess.

            Things change because populations change.

        • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          10 hours ago

          A politicians job is also to lead, not just follow. They should follow their voters wants and needs, but of their ideas are rejected, someone else should be the representative instead. With career politicians z they change their views to get elected rather than have beliefs to better the country or state.

    • ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 hours ago

      That just sounds like he’s trying to run for president in 2028 and really needs to get the DNC behind him

      • HasturInYellow@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        7 hours ago

        As much as I dislike the guy, he is at least standing up to some of what trump is doing. Is he my first choice? No. Is he my third choice? No. Is he my 12th choice? Still no. But fuck dude. I would literally take anyone who agrees that brown people should not all be slaves at this point. Like anyone who isn’t a right wing christofascist cumbucket.

        But then again, if we don’t get someone willing to discuss and rewrite large portions of the Constitution and other founding documents, we’re just dead in the water anyways.

  • jeffw@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    58
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    15 hours ago

    Better yet, divide into North and South California to win the Senate

          • scott@lemmy.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            9
            arrow-down
            6
            ·
            13 hours ago

            Don’t be fooled into falling into this red vs blue gamified bullshit. It’s all a big club and you ain’t in it. Don’t play the same game that gets the maga fucks hating their neighbors.

            • sepi@piefed.social
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              13 hours ago

              The maga fucks hate their neighbors because they’ve got cheese between their ears. They are legitimately insane.

              • scott@lemmy.org
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                5
                ·
                11 hours ago

                So have you if you think that somehow means democract politicians are coming to save us.

    • ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 hours ago

      According to an old CGPGrey video, this requires an actor of congress, except for in Texas, where they have a special privilege to subdivide themselves when they feel like it.

      • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        9 hours ago

        I dunno, i think the current congress is stupid enough to think breaking up california is a win for the republican party

    • can_you_change_your_username@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      14 hours ago

      Ok, here’s the plan. No legislation needed and the courts can’t stop it. Alright, we divide the population of New York City into ten parts. The first part stays in the city to keep New York state. The other nine parts each move to the nine least populated states. We might have to put together some sub plans for the nine states so that we can pick up house seats along with the Senate seats.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      14 hours ago

      Three. San Diego can be South California, Los Angeles can be Central California, and the Bay Area can be North California.

  • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    7 hours ago

    What the FUCK?! Newsome is even as a “presidential candidate”?!

    Good fucking dammit, I fucking hate the democrats so much.

  • Oxysis/Oxy@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    15 hours ago

    Or just secede and hope other states that don’t want a dictator follow you. Then create your own policies, alliances, trade deals so that the fascists stop fucking you over constantly.

  • kreskin@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 hours ago

    Newsom needs to learn to do less threatening and a lot more doing. We’re all a bit tired of the sternly worded letter approach to politics.

    • atticus88th@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 hours ago

      Its not just his letters, his army of corporate lawyers and lower tier federal judges are also a threat. About as much of a threat as a fart in the wind, but still enough to generate the headlines he needs.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      9 hours ago

      "Newsom’s plan in California is unlikely to succeed. More than a decade ago, California voters approved a constitutional amendment that stripped lawmakers of their ability to draw congressional districts and gave it to an independent redistricting commission. Newsom has only offered vague ideas for how to get around that requirement. He has suggested the legislature could call a quick voter referendum to potentially strip the commission of its power. He also said on Wednesday there was a possibility of the legislature trying to enact new maps on its own – a novel legal theory.

      “It’s not lawful in any way,” said Dan Vicuña, a redistricting expert at the watchdog group Common Cause. “It was clear that this was meant to be done one time after the census, through a public and transparent process that centers community feedback, and then to be not touched again until the next decade.”

      He added: “It’s not an invitation to them to circumvent the independent process and gerrymander maps in the middle of a decade. That would completely undermine the purpose of the independent process voters approved.”

      California’s independent commission has long been considered a model for making the process of drawing district lines fairer. There has been a bipartisan push in recent years to get more states to adopt commissions such as California’s, where ordinary citizens – Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated – have the power to draw district lines. After the 2020 census, four states – California, Arizona, Michigan and Colorado – used independent commissions. Democrats sought to require all states to use independent redistricting commissions in federal legislation that stalled in the US Senate during Joe Biden’s presidency."