Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Da Geezer]

Jon, I admire your response about your wife and your marriage. More importantly, I know from previous discussions we have had that you are telling the truth.

Why the NDA? Republican voters are far more socially conservative than Dems. Trump's lawyer evidently decided that the campaign couldn't afford to have more negative sexual matters come out about the candidate. Looking backward, perhaps the payoff was unnecessary. Stormy Daniels seemed credible to me, but she was also clearly out for herself. I think she will make a lot of money out of the deal, and that is fine with me. Why would Cohen pay $ 130k if the two didn't have a fling? I think Trump should have kept silent unless he actually did not have sex with Daniels, which is still a possibility.

[Kapture1]

[Kapture1]

[SeattleLionsFan]

It’s nice to see that Geezer freely admits that the President violates campaign finance laws in paying off Ms. Daniels. Welcome to the resistance.

[Dr. Strangelove]

First, a random comment -- I remember back when folks specifically encouraged "majority minority" districts as Constitutionally and legislatively required.

Second, I really can't fathom how ridiculous it's going to be to have Courts drawing districts.

There's definitely plenty of debate over what's an ideal congressional map.

This wiki article is interesting (I know, I know). Most of the rules regarding modern redistricting come from a 1929 Act, not the Constitution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reapportionment_Act_of_1929

Up until 1929, the House just kept growing. 1929 is when it became fixed at 435. The article suggests this is because rural America (largely represented by Republicans) was very worried by the massive population shifts from country to city that took place between 1880 and 1920. Fixing the total number of seats would blunt the growth of urban influence.

Also, up until 1929, Reapportionment Acts apparently contained requirements that districts be "contiguous and compact". That requirement was deliberately left out of the 1929 Act.

So I mean....there's so many different ideas on what a good congressional map looks like. Partisans on both sides believe it's the one which best benefits their party (clearly not a concern of the Founders). Some people push the Minority Majority districts. Some think it should be a map that produces the most "competitive" races. Some think it should create the "contiguous and compact" districts.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The other debate, of course, is whether under no circumstances can a state legislature's power to determine the districts be taken away

[SeattleLionsFan]

Fwiw, IMO it is important to draw lines without regard to partisan leanings of the constituency. Beyond that, I am open to other considerations.

[iam416]

DSL;

As an aside, I’m actually curious as to whether most rural voters were R in 1929. Given that the Rs controlled the North and the Ds the South.

More importantly, your various options for drawing districts reveals, IMO, the difficulty that courts will have articulating a workable standard. I happen to believe that state legislatures are Constitutionally granted that power and its nearly unlimited. But even if I’m wrong on that, I’d much prefer the decision be made by elected officials to unelected, lifetime appointees.

I don’t necessarily mind Pennsylvania’s crazy partisan Court stealing the process either because at least they are elected. But Federal courts? No. Just no.

[Dr. Strangelove]

RANDOM

The Census' 2017 county estimates are out. Here are the 10 fastest growing counties in Ohio from 2010-2017:

Delaware: +15.1% (Over 200,000 for the first time)
Franklin: +11.0% (Almost 1.3M now)
Union: +8.6%
Warren: +7.5%
Fairfield: +5.9%
Licking: +4.2%
Wood: +4.0%
Pickaway: +3.9%
Holmes: +3.8%
Clermont: +3.5%

For the ignorant savages: 6 in central Ohio, 2 in SW Ohio, 1 in the NW, 1 in the NE (sorta)

[iam416]

Wood is a surprise.

[Dr. Strangelove]

As an aside, I?m actually curious as to whether most rural voters were R in 1929. Given that the Rs controlled the North and the Ds the South.

More importantly, your various options for drawing districts reveals, IMO, the difficulty that courts will have articulating a workable standard. I happen to believe that state legislatures are Constitutionally granted that power and its nearly unlimited. But even if I?m wrong on that, I?d much prefer the decision be made by elected officials to unelected, lifetime appointees.

I don?t necessarily mind Pennsylvania?s crazy partisan Court stealing the process either because at least they are elected. But Federal courts? No. Just no.

RE: The rural vote in 1929

Speaking only anecdotally, Southern blacks were still predominantly voting Republican in the 1920's, Party of Lincoln and all that, and unlike in the North, tended to live in rural areas. There were (and are) definitely plenty of southern rural counties where black voters made up the majority.

Either way, urbanization in the South wasn't a threat to rural voters in the way it was in the Midwest and Northeast,. And in those regions, except for weird populist years, rural areas traditionally leaned Republican since 1856

[Dr. Strangelove]

Wood is a surprise.

Yeah, my only guess there is 1) College town attracting some growth and 2) People fleeing Toledo.

Counties that shrank the most aren't so much the Rust Belt Northeast counties we immediately think about but the Appalachian ones. Carroll, Scioto, Harrison, Jefferson, Columbiana, Monroe...

[iam416]

You know, I just had to drive up there a couple weeks ago. Northern Wood is really developed and pretty damn close to Toledo. It actually made an impression. There’s still squat by BG, the Cornell of Ohio.

[iam416]

Also...I wasn’t really thinking of Southern blacks as voting in 1929. I mean, technically they were eligible voters, but...

[Dr. Strangelove]

You know, I just had to drive up there a couple weeks ago. Northern Wood is really developed and pretty damn close to Toledo. It actually made an impression. There’s still squat by BG, the Cornell of Ohio.

Lucky you. The drive up 23 is such a blast. Did you stop at Coons Candy?

EDIT: Also, eat a dick, Ohio A&M-Columbus"Alum"