I will be voting this November

@sunsporter1649 No, because the state is split 50/50, so half of the people are OK with the policies the [b][u]Democratic[/u][/b] party is advocating. The problem is that Democratic voters are concentrated into a few districts. You should see some of the crazy outlines, this one in Pennsylvania is called "Goofy kicking Donald Duck."

@Lila15 If you look real close at the articles of incorporation for the democrat party you will find that they have always been the democrat party, and their is nothing democratic about them. "Do as I say or I will get in your face, chase you out of diners, assault your family and friends, disrupt your congressional hearings, hound you and your family until the day you die."

@sunsporter1649 Well, OK, the U.S. isn't a classical democracy like in Ancient Greece, it's a federal constitutional republic. The founding fathers didn't intend to make the U.S. a pure democracy. We have democratically elected representatives.

The original name for the party was Democrat-Republican. Other parties of that time were the Federalists and the Whigs.

I don't approve of people being run out of restaurants, but conservatives are also violent, like in Charlottesville where a white supremacist killed a woman and injured some demonstrators, or the Bundy family that faced off against federal agents and took over a federal building. But I don't think the extremists on either side represent the whole, otherwise we'd be having a civil war right now.

My point was that congressional district lines should be drawn fairly and not give either party an unfair advantage.

I always thought that the congressional districts were drawn to reflect the will of the people, and the will of the people was determined by those who win elections. Same thing with the electoral college, winners take the state, since the will of the people was determined by the votes cast for a particular candidate.

@sunsporter1649 The problem is that the lines are drawn following each census every 10 years, so if one party has control that year, they can draw them unfairly to make sure they retain power for the next decade even if they lose popularity.

Maine and Nebraska award electoral votes proportionally. The Constitution allows states to award them any way they want.

Does not sound like a problem to me, just win elections, do the will of the people, and nobody has a reason to squawk.

@sunsporter1649 The problem is when the districts are gerrymandered, if it's in one party's favor, they can maintain control even if the majority votes against them. In NC, I want the Democrats to take over at least one house so they can force the Republicans to redraw the districts fairly in 2021.

If the only way your side can win is by cheating, you need to be stopped.

@Lila15 LOL, playing by the rules as they are written is now cheating, is it?

@sunsporter1649 The rules need to be changed. Partisan gerrymandering may be within the letter of the law, but not the spirit. I think it was in 2012 when Democratic congressional candidates got a million more votes in total than Republicans, yet the Republicans kept their majority in the House. That means there's a problem with the rules if they allow that.

If the district lines were drawn in such a way as to make it impossible for Republicans to ever have a majority in Congress, would you be OK with that? Or would you want them drawn fairly to allow you to have a chance to compete fairly based on popularity?

@Lila15 LOL, the rules were good enough for the 40 years the goddamndemocrats had control of Congress, so why all of a sudden the crying for change? There is a new sheriff in town.

@sunsporter1649 The Red State project managed to get majorities of Republicans into the state legislatures in 2010, so they controlled the process after the last census. Now it looks like resistance to Trump is going to do the same thing this year for the Democrats. But I don't want them to reverse the gerrymandering and lock Democrats in Congress for the next decade. I want it to be fair.

I guess that's the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats want government to reflect the will of the people, while Republicans just want to be in power even if they're a minority.

@Lila15 LOL, looking forward to the time when the United States is run just like California, won't that be something to see! Governor Moonbeam issuing decrees banning straws, convicted felons and illegal immigrants voted into Congress, and free everything for everybody! What a paradise!

@sunsporter1649 Considering that CA has a huge economy and a budget surplus, I don't see the problem.

Can you name an illegal immigrant who was voted into Congress? If you're talking about convicted felons, that would be former car thief Darrell Issa, who is a Republican.

@Lila15 Wonderful, now the Federal Government can stop supplying California with Federal Tax money's, and spend the money where it can do some good for the American people. If I recall correctly, in California illegal immigrants and felons can vote, so it will not be long until they get elected to Congress. And I seem to recall Carlos Danger, aka Tony Weiner, who is enjoying a paid vacation at the expense of the American taxpayer. Wonder what happened to his computer, the one he used to send naked pictures of himself to little girls, and incidentally had Hillary's emails on them.

@sunsporter1649 Actually, it's the red states that get more in federal benefits than they pay in taxes. California pays a lot more than it receives. Also, illegal immigrants can't vote in California. I'm not sure about felons, but if someone has served their time, I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to vote again.

@Lila15 I believe that I read that in San Francisco, and some other cities, illegal immigrants are voting in local elections, and can present their own candidate's for office. And sure, why not let felons vote, presenting the citizens who keep clean records one less incentive to be on the straight and narrow.

@sunsporter1649 "I believe that I read" - I think it's reasonable to ask for a reference. Illegal aliens are not allowed to vote anywhere. And San Francisco is so liberal, I don't think it makes a difference anyway.

I don't think people in prison should vote, but a lifelong ban on felons voting is unconstitutional. Should we suspend other rights? Like felons shouldn't have free speech, shouldn't be allowed to own guns, can be bought and sold as slaves, etc.?

@Lila15 San Francisco is registering illegal aliens to give them the ability to vote in the upcoming November elections, according to the San Francisco Examiner and the Sacramento Bee on July 18, 2018.

Yup, screw the honest citizens, reward the felons for their indiscretions, nobody is accountable for their actions. The right to vote is one of the founding principals of our nation, responsible citizens electing representatives to follow the will of the people.

@sunsporter1649 "Does not sound like a problem to me, just win elections, do the will of the people, and nobody has a reason to squawk."

@Lila15 If the people of California wish their state to be run by a bunch of foreigners with no respect for the Constitution, ignorance of the American culture and mores, and respect for the past and future of the United States, so be it.

@sunsporter1649 It seems to be working for them.

However, that doesn't have anything to do with Republicans unfairly drawing the district boundaries in North Carolina to guarantee themselves more seats in Congress even if a majority of voters don't support that.

Also, who cares about a "bunch of foreigners?" Two of my grandparents were born overseas; so what? This whole country was settled by foreigners. "American culture" is "foreign" unless you're saying that only white Christian culture is "American" and everyone else has to fit into that. Most illegal immigrants are Christian, by the way. Today it's conservatives who have no respect for the Constitution!

@Lila15 LOL, straight out of the democrat playbook, it amazes me that you young folks can not think for yourselves. My mother arrived here from Poland in August, 1939, my fathers ancestors arrived in this country in 1732, as an indentured servant on a tobacco farm in Virginia. I myself am a citizen of the United States, have been for 70 years. Last time I looked around there were Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhist's, citizens of every race, color, and creed are American citizens, and have been citizens of the United States since we chased Cornwallis out of Virginia. The glue that has held the United States together has been our Constitution, which has given every citizen the right of the pursuit of happiness, within the law.

@sunsporter1649 And I support the Constitution. But it seems pretty obvious to me that the party furthest from the Constitution and the ideals of the founding fathers is the Republican party. Maybe that wasn't the case when you were my age, but it is now.

Also, it's "Democratic" when you're talking about the party. "Democrat" refers to an individual member. I know it's confusing because "Republican" refers to both.

@Lila15 Oh yes, I forgot, the Constitution clearly states that political parties are permitted to spy on each other, allows foreign citizens to interfere with our elections, grants illegal aliens and felons the right to vote, allows illegal aliens and criminals to take over our cities, gives judges the power to make laws, grants States the right to ignore Federal law....

@sunsporter1649 Most of what you mentioned either isn't happening or is not happening to any great extent. Or the Constiution is silent on those things. But if you disagree, you're free to file a lawsuit.