Gerrymandered GOP Congressional Districts Became Whiter, More Conservative

Many in the GOP - especial demagogues in the GOP Congressional delegation in the House of Representatives - claim that the 2012 election gave them a mandate since the GOP retained control of the House.  The truth, of course, is something quite different.  Retention of control of the House had little to do with support for GOP policies and everything to do with carefully gerrymandered districts that sought to insure the election of GOP candidates.  A case in point is Virginia's 2nd Congressional district which was redrawn in a ridiculous manner to make sure that hate group founder endorsed Scott Rigell would be re-elected.  But for the outrageous changes to his district, Rigell likely would have lost in 2012.  A story in USA Today looks at how districts were redrawn to package whites and conservatives together to block GOP losses.  Here are story highlights:

Momentum to overhaul the nation's immigration laws is fueled by the growing political influence of Hispanics in America, but in the U.S. House there is diminishing incentive for Republicans to support the effort because their constituents have become whiter, more conservative and less diverse than the nation as a whole.

In 2012, the congressional district lines that make up the 435-seat chamber were redrawn as part of the once-a-decade process to balance out population shifts.

GOP-led redistricting efforts moved areas with high concentrations of predominantly Democratic minority voters out of GOP dominant districts and into Democratic-heavy districts, thereby making both districts less competitive in a general election.

According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, House Republicans today represent 6.6 million fewer minorities than in 2002 — the last time the lines were redrawn. The average GOP district is now 75% white, up 2 percentage points after the 2012 reconfiguration, while the average Democratic district is 51% white, down one percentage point since 2002.

"What's amazing is Republicans were able to actually make their districts ... whiter in the 2012 round of redistricting even though minorities were responsible for most of the growth of the U.S. population in the past 10 years," said David Wasserman, an election analyst for the Cook Report.

The 2010 redistricting resulted in a stronger GOP grip on the House, but also a political climate where incumbents are more vulnerable to primary challenges than general election battles, election analysts say, boosting the political pressure on incumbents to appeal to base voters. And voters in the Republican base are skeptical of proposals to make immigration easier.
 
Conservative Super PACs are already forming to target Republicans on immigration.
"It must be defeated in its entirety, period," said Lorie Medina, a Tea Party activist who chairs the Real Conservatives National Committee. The group has vowed to find and fund primary challengers to any Republican who supports a legislative overhaul similar to the Senate proposal, which the group considers an "amnesty" bill.

In short, the open racism and toxic nature of the GOP continues to intensify.