[EM] Gerrymander Wars 1999

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

Which minority rule gang will prevail in Gerrymander Wars 2000 -- the D's or 
the R's ???   Folks may wish to try to get the Washington Times to mention 
"gerrymander", "proportional representation" and "majority rule".
-----------
campaigns - Subscribe to the Campaigns and Elections List at 
http://campaigns.listbot.com

GOP eyes Virginia seats via redistricting

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Republican control of the Virginia legislature could yield a big political 
payoff after the 2000 census when party leaders redraw district lines that 
may give them up to four additional seats in Congress.
     With the Republicans in full command of the governorship and the General 
Assembly, they will have the unchallenged power to redraw the political map 
of Virginia that could create a new congressional district and alter the 
boundaries of some vulnerable Democratic districts that would guarantee their 
defeat.
     "We were the victims of a Democratic-controlled gerrymandered process 
there 10 years ago. It's a totally changed picture today. We're talking about 
four seats. That's a big deal," said David Israelite, political director for 
the Republican National Committee.
     The political importance of the GOP's historic victory in Virginia 
Tuesday is especially critical because of Democratic control of the state 
legislature and governorship in California, where the GOP could lose between 
six and eight House seats under reapportionment and redistricting.
     Under the court-mandated reapportionment process that requires each 
state to adjust district lines every decade to conform to population shifts, 
Virginia's boundaries will be redrawn after the 2000 census. But unlike 10 
years ago when Democrats were in control of the General Assembly, the 
Republicans will be in charge of the process and they will be looking to 
settle old scores.
     "They are going to redraw the lines to help themselves as much as 
possible. We've got a tough row to hoe because I don't look forward to the 
Republicans showing any mercy," said Virginia Democratic strategist Henry 
Carter.
     Mr. Carter, an Orange County lawyer who has held several posts in the 
state party, thinks that "it's very possible, yeah," that redistricting could 
produce four more Republican seats in the House in the 2002 midterm elections.
     Despite Virginia's conservative Republican reputation, Democrats 
outnumber Republicans 6-5 in its 11-member congressional delegation.
     Population growth could result in an additional House district seat when 
the new lines are redrawn in 2001 and if so, party map makers will make sure 
that it is Republican.
     Meantime, Democratic Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a conservative lawmaker 
whose voting record earned a strong 83 percent score last year from the 
American Conservative Union, is being urged by Republican officials to switch 
parties. If he doesn't, party strategists say his would be the first district 
to be redrawn to ensure his defeat.
     After that, strategists in both parties say that several Virginia 
Democrats are at the top of the Republican redistricting hit list, including 
Reps. Rick Boucher and Bobby Scott, both archliberals who earn near perfect 
95 percent scores from the Americans for Democratic Action.
     Mr. Carter said that both would be on a list of the state's "most 
vulnerable Democrats" under any Republican redistricting plan.
     While much of the news media's reporting on congressional redistricting 
has focused on California with its huge 52-seat House delegation, Republican 
strategists say that the picture is actually much brighter for their party 
than has been reported.
     Once dominated by the Democrats, the two parties are now nearly at 
parity in legislative strength. Republicans control 48 chambers and the 
Democrats control 49, with Washington state's House chamber tied and 
Nebraska's unicameral legislature considered nonpartisan though it is 
effectively in Republican hands.
     This is why a senior RNC official says that in addition to Virginia, 
"there are other places where we could pick up House seats" in 2002 through 
the redistricting process.
     Party officials say that they think they have a good chance of picking 
up six or seven seats in Texas if the GOP captures the state House in 2000, 
plus three or four seats in Pennsylvania, two or three seats in Florida, and 
one or two seats in Arizona, among other states where the GOP controls the 
legislature.
     "It's possible that the Republicans could pick up an additional 20 seats 
in the House, excluding California," a senior RNC official said yesterday.