Republican blogger Brian Schoeneman wrote a post that caused my jaw to drop:
Right now, despite our inability to win statewide contests, losing every statewide race we’ve run since 2009, we have maintained an 8-3 edge in our Congressional delegation. How did we do that? Gerrymandering. Not everybody wants to talk about it, but it is true, and without Bob McDonnell’s landslide win, redistricting would not have gone as well for Republicans as it did ... [Likewise] Republican control of the House of Delegates is not in jeopardy, thanks to gerrymandering ...I've written about Virginia's gerrymandering, redistricting, and "recognized political parties" previously but I've never seen a party guy mention gerrymandering so openly. In fact Mr. Schoeneman's post goes on to suggest that a Republican gubernatorial victory in 2017 is needed to ensure further gerrymandering and further party gains following the 2020 Census and subsequent redistricting.
I don't know how I feel about his frankness: on the one hand I admire the honesty and admission; on the other it makes me angry that the major parties continue their scheming to codify their dominance rather than compete for our votes. To the latter Mr. Schoeneman offers: "The opportunity for Republicans in Northern Virginia is the ability to unpack some of the more Democratic districts and create competitive seats out of the Northern Virginia districts."
How 'bout "unpacking" some Republican districts? I know – that's just cray cray.
