posted on Jul, 1 2003 @ 10:08 AM
ger�ry�man�der [ j�rree m�ndr ]
transitive and intransitive verb (past ger�ry�man�dered, past participle ger�ry�man�dered, present participle ger�ry�man�der�ing, 3rd person present
singular ger�ry�man�ders)
try to get extra votes unfairly: to manipulate an electoral area, usually by altering its boundaries, in order to gain an unfair political
advantage in an election
They just did it in Denver, now this radical strain of Republicanism, that is typified by Karl Rove-Tom Delay-Cheney& Bush, is doing it in Texas
!!
Across U.S., Redistricting as a Never-Ending Battle
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
AUSTIN, Tex., June 30 � For most of the past century, redistricting has been a fairly predictable though often contentious ritual. Every 10 years,
state legislators would use the new census data to redraw Congressional district lines, and the party in power would usually manage to draw maps that
gave it an advantage.
Now, thanks to a determined effort by United States Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, with the quiet support of the White House,
that tradition may be crumbling, as legislatures draw new districts whenever they have a partisan advantage.
Today, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature opened an extraordinary special session devoted solely to redrawing the state's 32 Congressional
districts. If Republicans succeed in doing so, they could remove five or more Democratic congressmen and help their party consolidate its hold on
power in Washington.
Republicans did much the same thing last month in Denver, pushing a new map through the Colorado Legislature specifically to shore up the seat of a
freshman congressman who won office with a 121-vote margin. And Democrats are threatening retaliation in New Mexico and Oklahoma, while dropping hints
about taking the redistricting battle to big-game territory: Illinois and California, where far more seats are at stake.
www.nytimes.com...