Last night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for changing Senate rules to nuke the filibuster and someday vote on proposals such as "end partisan gerrymandering," in addition to the voting legislation before them that would amount to a federal takeover of elections.
Former President Barack Obama and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder have also warned about the threats of gerrymandering. Such "partisan gerrymandering" is a recurring issue when it comes to Democratic states, as the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) highlighted in a new video ad, "Hypocrisy," on Thursday.
In the ad, Holder is heard saying, "Gerrymandering is cheating." He is now the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and was previously Obama's attorney general.
Obama is heard in the ad saying, "Regardless of our party affiliations, it's not good for our democracy."
A narrator responds, "Unless they're the ones doing it. And they're doing it all across the country. And what do they have to say about these egregious districts drawn by liberals? No comment. In liberal-led states like Oregon, Illinois, and Maryland, Democrats are handing themselves more control. With voters rejecting Washington's failures, gerrymandering is the only hope left for the radical liberal agenda. In order to gain power, Democrats say one thing and do another. The word is hypocrisy. It's time to call out liberal gerrymandering."
In those states listed above, Democrats have had control of the redistricting, to the point where they are gerrymandering Republican member seats out of existence. In Illinois, this has forced out Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), though he may run for another political office. Democrats have also bragged about how the gerrymandering affects Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), who will have to run against Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) or Mike Bost (R-IL) in primary battles, as highlighted by POLITICO last month.
In addition to Oregon, Illinois, and Maryland, gerrymandering is also an issue in New Mexico.
RSLC National Press Secretary Stephanie Rivera provided a statement as to how this speaks to a Democratic power grab. "The refusal of Eric Holder and President Obama to condemn gerrymandering in liberal-led states makes clear that Democrats don't actually care about 'fair maps' and will say whatever they need to in order to gain power," Rivera said. "With voters rejecting their out-of-touch socialist agenda that has produced crisis after crisis, Democrats know that the egregious gerrymandering they are currently engaging in is the only recourse they have left to win elections."
The Cook Political Report late last month predicted that the GOP will pick up the House in the 2022 midterms. Just earlier this month, though, an analysis from David Wasserman noted, with original emphasis, that "on the current trajectory, there will be a few more Biden-won districts after redistricting than there are now — producing a congressional map slightly less biased in the GOP's favor than the last decade's."
Despite desperate Democratic power grab moves, the GOP remains in a good position to gain control of the House, with many factors being in the party's favor.
As a matter of historical trend, the president's party almost always loses seats during his first midterm election, and Democrats only have single-digit majorities in both the House and Senate as it is. Further, Biden's polls have been and remain catastrophically poor.
Watch the ad below: