Stuck On Stupid

"Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday called on Republicans to “stop being the stupid party” and make a concerted effort to reach a broader swath of voters with an inclusive economic message that pre-empts efforts to caricature the GOP as the party of the rich."

No, Governor, the correct nomenclature is Sensible Party and Silly Party:



And in some places, Republicans did as badly as Kevin Phillips-BONG of the Slightly Silly Party (1;49 if you don't get it): 

But almost a week after the election, it is now becoming clear just how lopsided President Obama's victory was in some cities: in dozens of urban precincts, Mitt Romney earned literally zero votes.

The Phildadelphia Inquirer reported today that, in 59 precincts in inner-city Philadelphia, the GOP nominee received not a single vote. And according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, nine precincts in Cleveland returned zero Romney votes.

At first blush, it seems almost impossible: how, even in some of the most heavily Democratic strongholds in the country, could a major party's presidential candidate fail to earn even one vote? 

But, as is often the case, the reality is less salacious than the conspiracy theory - a consequence of demography, not electoral shenanigans.

Most big cities are heavily Democratic to begin with, and geographic patterns of racial segregation may yield an even more one-sided electoral result in certain areas than in the city as a whole.

"Yeah, well, I can get ya a one sided electoral result," said redistricting consultant Jerry Mandering:

Prior to 2012, there have been only three other congressional elections in the last hundred years in which one major party won more popular votes for U.S. House, yet the other major party won more seats. They were 1914, 1942, and 1952.

All of those years were in a fundamentally different voting environment, before the civil rights bills and one person one vote court rulings of the 1960s. So it's safe to say this cycle produced the worst gerrymanders ever - despite clean districting laws taking effect in two large states, California and Florida. Redistricting reform is just as critical an issue as campaign finance reform.
And a retweet I can fully endorse, though not as intended:

UPS pulls support for Boy Scouts huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/ups… UPS=Teamsters, FedEX=non union. You choose.
— Mary(@akamom1996) November 13, 2012

You say that like it's a bad thing.