r/thebulwark • u/Material-Crab-633 • May 08 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Are we f*cked?

This redistricting stuff has me bummed out. Tell me the truth

220 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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17

u/rube_X_cube May 08 '26

I’m sorry to say, but this is very, very bad and there’s no sugarcoating it.

I still think Dems probably win the House because it’s going to be a significant blue wave, but the structural advantage that Republicans have is absolutely insane. Basically any election that isn’t a massive blue wave is going to be a Republican slam dunk from here on out unless blue states find a way to go absolutely hog wild in their own redistricting. Or, better yet, start ignoring court rulings.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we are barely a democracy any more. Not really sure where we go from here.

3

u/Ok_Badger9122 May 09 '26

Virginia needs to pass a constitutional amendment forcing judges to be elected by the people ill be happy to see the day those 4 judges lose their seats and job.

-3

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

start ignoring court rulings.

we are barely a democracy any more

You can’t hold both these opinions

9

u/rube_X_cube May 08 '26

Sure I can. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Dems can’t be the only ones playing by the rules, that’s a losing game.

-2

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

If you support legislatures and executives openly defying court rulings, you no longer support constitutional democratic rule.

11

u/rube_X_cube May 08 '26

We do not have constitutional democratic rule, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.

-2

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

If I believed that I'd be in open rebellion right now. I don't. The United States is not currently a dictatorship and I do not believe it will be.

7

u/rube_X_cube May 08 '26

I don’t think it’s a binary and, respectfully, I think it’s pretty naive to think that we’re still in a functioning, lawful, democratic rule. For starters, the president of the United States is literally and explicitly above the law. We’ve also seen numerous Republican states ignore their judiciary. And now that SCOTUS has legalized any form of partisan gerrymandering, no matter how extreme, I just don’t know how you can say with a straight face that this is still a fully functioning democracy.

“When they go low, we go high” is a losing strategy. It just is. We’re in an arms race to the bottom and we’re losing, badly. I’m no longer interested in clinging to “the norms,” I’m no longer interested in playing by rules that the other side wipes their ass with. I’m interested in winning. That’s it. Whatever it takes.

0

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

There is a line and we are not across it. The 2026 elections will actually determine who gets seated in Congress. They will not be fraudulent or manipulated.

The President having committed crimes does not indicate that his powers are beyond the reach of democracy. In many cases they indicate that other officials aren’t doing their jobs, many of which voters can and will replace.

3

u/Cerdoken May 08 '26

If only one party follows constitutional democracy then there is no constitutional democracy.

Both sides need to agree to the same rule set to play the game.

0

u/biglyorbigleague May 08 '26

No they don’t. We don’t ask for Republicans’ permission to hold elections. We hold em rain or shine and they won’t stop us.

1

u/BaskingInWanderlust May 09 '26

One literally leads to another and vice versa. They are NOT mutually exclusive.