2004 Democratic Primary

[minionofmidas]

That rule is an invitation for gerrymandering...

It's not even really a rule. The Supreme Court has struck dow a law that allowed a 5% variation but upheld another one that allowed a lesser variation (I don't remember how much that was, 1,5% maybe?)
There's a number of states which don't make them exactly equal.
But yes, of course, it's used as an excuse for gerrymandering.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I know that WV uses whole counties and that the WVDP didn't gerrymander Capito out of her seat... and that Iowa was drawn by a non-partizan group of people...

[minionofmidas]

I know that WV uses whole counties and that the WVDP didn't gerrymander Capito out of her seat... and that Iowa was drawn by a non-partizan group of people...

Arkansas also uses whole Counties.
Minnesota, Arizona, Washington and Oregon all redistrict by commission, I may be forgetting one state here. The MS map was draw up by a Court, not the legislature.
Note that AZ screwed it up a bit despite having a commission. They too can be lobbied...But it's still not as bad as Representatives electing their voters and not vice versa, as happened in California, Illinois, parts of Virginia...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The only good thing about that rule is that it stops malapportionment (see Queensland for more information)

[minionofmidas]

The only good thing about that rule is that it stops malapportionment (see Queensland for more information)

that's how it came about. once upon a time districts in America were malapportioned (and often gerrymandered as well, though not nearly as badly as nowadays). Tennessee continued to use its 1870s apportionment for the state house until the supreme court finally told em to stop it in -was it 1964? Around then, anyway.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

But was the cure worse than the disease? (that's a rhetorical question)

[opebo]

112,000 jobs added in Jan.  according to one measure.  Unemployment 5.6%.  Really it all sounds pretty much fine to me, though I suppose we'll be needing a lot more to ensure Bush's re-election.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=4&u=/ap/20040206/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_32

[opebo]

Here's an interesting map of unemployment rates by county - http://www.bls.gov/lau/maps/twmcort.gif

But of course its the states that matter..

[Filuwaúrdjan]

VA-5 could be called Southside.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

New Compas poll:

LPC: 49%
CPC: 19%
NDP: 17%
BQ:    09%  
 

[© tweed]

New Compas poll:

LPC: 49%
CPC: 19%
NDP: 17%
BQ:    09%  

Holy s***, the NDP is gonna finish ahead of the conservatives...

[muon2]

As a native, let me put my two cents in for IL. I do like hugento's 4 criteria: natural names, dominant jurisdiction, name matches, historic designation.

IL1: Chicago - South Cook
IL2: Chicago - Calumet (The old harbor area and river distinguigh this from the more westerly part of the south side and south Cook)
IL3: Chicago - Midway (Southwest doesn't capture it the same way the old airport does. We all know what the Midway area means.)
IL4: Chicago - Little Village/Hermosa (I picked two prominent neighborhoods on opposite arms in this intensely gerrymandered district.)
IL5: Chicago - Northwest (I was born here and there are too many distinct neighborhoods to pick one, the northwest side works well.)
IL6: DuPage (It only has half the county's population, but it has the right feeling.)
IL7: Chicago Loop/West (One has to put the Loop somewhere in this state's names.)
IL8: Chain-o-Lakes (The most prominent local feature for this upscale subrban district)
IL9: Chicago - North Cook
IL10: Great Lake (After the large naval training center, to distinguish it from the western half of Lake County.)
IL11: Heritage Canal (The National Historic Landmark I&M canal runs through the district and is easily recognized here.)
IL12: Great River South (Using the Mississippi as the marker of this diverse district.)
IL13: Naper (This uses the historic settlement name rather than the suburb that makes up 1/6 of the district's population.)
IL14: Fox Valley (Over half the district's population is in Kane and Kendall Counties on the Fox River, and the area is easily identified in the state this way.)
IL15: University (Three of the major institutions are here: Univeristy of Illinois, Illinois State University, and Eastern Illinois University.)
IL16: Rock Valley - Highland (This works better to encompass the areas in the district south and west of Rockford, but I could live with the name of city that is about 1/5 of the district's population.)
IL17: Great River North (See IL 12, and I can't imagine any other way to name this icon of gerrymandering.)
IL18: Illinois Valley (The river is the common feature.)
IL19: Kaskaskia (It's a good historic name, the community college in the district takes that name, and I'll overlook the fact that the actual site of the historic fort is in IL 12.)

[minionofmidas]

As a native, let me put my two cents in for IL. I do like hugento's 4 criteria: natural names, dominant jurisdiction, name matches, historic designation.

IL1: Chicago - South Cook
IL2: Chicago - Calumet (The old harbor area and river distinguigh this from the more westerly part of the south side and south Cook)
IL3: Chicago - Midway (Southwest doesn't capture it the same way the old airport does. We all know what the Midway area means.)
IL4: Chicago - Little Village/Hermosa (I picked two prominent neighborhoods on opposite arms in this intensely gerrymandered district.)
IL5: Chicago - Northwest (I was born here and there are too many distinct neighborhoods to pick one, the northwest side works well.)
IL6: DuPage (It only has half the county's population, but it has the right feeling.)
IL7: Chicago Loop/West (One has to put the Loop somewhere in this state's names.)
IL8: Chain-o-Lakes (The most prominent local feature for this upscale subrban district)
IL9: Chicago - North Cook
IL10: Great Lake (After the large naval training center, to distinguish it from the western half of Lake County.)
IL11: Heritage Canal (The National Historic Landmark I&M canal runs through the district and is easily recognized here.)
IL12: Great River South (Using the Mississippi as the marker of this diverse district.)
IL13: Naper (This uses the historic settlement name rather than the suburb that makes up 1/6 of the district's population.)
IL14: Fox Valley (Over half the district's population is in Kane and Kendall Counties on the Fox River, and the area is easily identified in the state this way.)
IL15: University (Three of the major institutions are here: Univeristy of Illinois, Illinois State University, and Eastern Illinois University.)
IL16: Rock Valley - Highland (This works better to encompass the areas in the district south and west of Rockford, but I could live with the name of city that is about 1/5 of the district's population.)
IL17: Great River North (See IL 12, and I can't imagine any other way to name this icon of gerrymandering.)
IL18: Illinois Valley (The river is the common feature.)
IL19: Kaskaskia (It's a good historic name, the community college in the district takes that name, and I'll overlook the fact that the actual site of the historic fort is in IL 12.)

Well done, nice work!
...though I dislike "University" because nobody outside IL will probably be able to place it, and "Great River South" because to me that would be in Louisiana if anywhere. (In other words, names have to mean something to Illinoians (?), but they should also make sense outside the state.)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That a common term form the area?

It seems to be as I've checked local media websites etc and the term is used a lot to refer to Southern Virginia.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There's no reason why they can't. I hope they don't do what they did last time they were popular...

[© tweed]

What are the differences between libs and the New Dems?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The NDP are a Democratic Socialist/Social Democratic party, while the Liberals are an old fashioned "Lloyd George/Woodrow Wilson" style liberal party, that somehow managed to suvive as the "Natural party of government" (and that's one hell of an achievment)

[© tweed]

okoay, tanks.

[minionofmidas]

The NDP are a Democratic Socialist/Social Democratic party, while the Liberals are an old fashioned "Lloyd George/Woodrow Wilson" style liberal party, that somehow managed to suvive as the "Natural party of government" (and that's one hell of an achievment)

The NDP got founded during the Great Depression and quickly soked up the previously existing Labour Party. It used to be known as CCF until 1962 (or 1965, or...anyways, until the 1960s), short for Cooperative Commonwealth Foundation.

[muon2]

IL12: Great River South (Using the Mississippi as the marker of this diverse district.)

..."Great River South" because to me that would be in Louisiana if anywhere. (In other words, names have to mean something to Illinoians (?), but they should also make sense outside the state.)

Another thought I have is to call the district Gateway. The reference is to the gateway arch in St. Louis, and I have heard the name used to refer to at least part of the area in Illinois.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There's been a funding scandel involving the Liberal Party recently, and their support has dropped dramatically:

LPC: 39%
CPC: 24%
NDP: 18%

By region:

Atlantic: LPC=42%, CPC=33%, NDP=19%
Quebec: LPC=40%, CPC=5%, NDP=8%, BQ=?
Ontario: LPC=47%, CPC=25%, NDP=22%
Praries: LPC=32%, CPC=23%, NDP=33%
Alberta: LPC=28%, CPC=50%, NDP=16%
BC: LPC=27%, CPC=35%, NDP=22%
Ipsos Reid

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I wonder why...

[© tweed]

But isn't Ipsos-Reid Tory leaning?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yes, so I'd like to see another firms poll to be sure (preferably Environics) but I don't doubt that the funding scandal has hurt the Liberals in the short term... in the long term I'm not so sure.

[Canadian observer]

A CROP-La Presse poll on federal vote intention in Quebec had been done right after the emerging of the sponsorship scandal.  I don't know if the affair will still run in the coming months, but in the short term, that might be a blow for the Liberals...

CROP-La Presse Polls

Date : Jan 15-24,'04
Liberal Party : 51%
Bloc québécois : 33%
Other : 16%

Date : Feb 11-12,'04
Liberal Party : 34%
Bloc québécois : 47%
Other : 19%

From Radio-Canada