Confirming what most of us have long suspected, apparently, some #Broward cities & communities must be divided so that some political careers can manage to stay afloat. For instance, Eleanor Sobel's. Her track record in office is cringe-worthy!; Matt Dixon: Deposition questions partisan emails of redistricting plaintiffs

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Drawn-and-quartered for political purposes not our own: A Hallandale Beach perspective on Brandon Larrabee's post, "Documents describe political consultants’ efforts in redistricting" in Florida in 2010; Yes, efforts to keep cities like Hallandale Beach divided to keep some FL politicians' political careers viable

Drawn-and-quartered for political purposes not our own: A Hallandale Beach perspective on Brandon Larrabee's post, "Documents describe political consultants’ efforts in redistricting" in Florida in 2010; Yes, efforts to keep cities like Hallandale Beach divided to keep some FL politicians' political careers viable

Palm Beach Post
Documents describe political consultants’ efforts in redistricting
By Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Posted: 1:51 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida lawmakers, politicos and voters held a public discussion about the once-a-decade redistricting process in 2011 and 2012, Republican consultants were quietly and busily drawing maps that they later said were produced largely because of their interest in the process.

Meanwhile, GOP operatives were discussing redistricting with officials in Washington and one consultant was writing to another about an offer of help from “friends with deep pockets.”

Read the rest of the post at
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/documents-describe-political-consultants-efforts-i/nZsy7/

The City of Hallandale Beach, in southeast Broward County, on the north side of the Miami-Dade County line, is hemmed in by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and I-95 on the west, is 4.2 square miles and has just under 39,00 residents, including myself. 

It is the poster child of a city that ought to be compact and contiguous, not broken up for political spare parts -and yet it is.

Again.

In order to satisfy base political and ethnic needs of politicians from outside the immediate area that have nothing at all to do with the letter and spirit of the Fair Districts legislation that I and many millions of other Florida voters passed, or giving this city's residents a degree of power that approximates their location and size, it is sliced and diced every which way.

Until last year's election, this city of under five square miles was represented by two U.S. Congresspersons, two state Representatives, two Broward County Commissioners and one state Senator.

Seven people instead of four.

Some people, uninformed people, say that's actually great for the city and means that its residents get more representation that way.

A great theory, but in practice, the reality was and is that Hallandale Beach residents are always merely a fraction in a political equation in how a bill becomes a law, and the first to be ignored and the first to be thrown overboard 

For the simplest and most-expedient reason of all -we were and are always deemed less important than some other larger city or area within the district because we have been intentionally drawn-and-quartered to appease other interests that are deemed more important than us having the meaningful representation we're entitled to. 

Just saying...

This is my 18th blog post here on redistricting. 
Prior posts on this subject can be seen here:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search?q=redistricting

For a great example of gerrymandering outside of HB but nearby, see the map of Rep. Alcee Hastings FL-20 district in Lake Worth, which at one point is just slightly wider than the area taken up by one high school's complex -Lake Worth High's.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/FL

Brandon Larrabee @BylineBrandon  https://twitter.com/BylineBrandon

News Service of Florida newsserviceflorida.com

https://twitter.com/newsservicefla

The curious case of Broward County Comm. candidate Marty Kiar's Tweets, which, for me, are more revealing for what they DON'T say

Above, the cover of Broward County Commission candidate Marty Kiar's recent four-page direct mail to NW Broward County voters. If you think that a mailing with this cover would be light on ideas or issues, esp. those involving the County Commission, the group he wants to join, you'd be right. But then have you read his tweets? 

Over the past nine months, for the most part, if you didn't know any better, you'd never even guess that  Kiar lived in Broward County, because whether it's the issue of ethics and scruples or rather the obvious lack of them at times on the County and municipal level here by elected officials and well-paid administrators and employees, the overwhelming evidence that red-light cameras in Broward are being used primarily as revenue generators for cities instead of for the public safety purposes elected officials say they are when installing them, the County's curious garbage contract monopoly, Broward County Commissioners fighting term-limits overwhelmingly voted in as law by Broward citizens, et al, Kiar never mentions important public policy matters that were actually being publicly discussed and voted upon in THIS county -and what he thinks about them. But then again, he is only 34-years old.

I find it very troubling that considering all the advantages that he enjoys, he's SO MUCH of a blank slate instead of being a more fully-formed and informed citizen. I seriously hope that voters living in District 8 will see more civic-minded candidates entering the race in the next four weeks, people who are NOT as tied-in to the Status Quo society in this county as Kiar is, so they can have at least one candidate to consider who will not only know the facts and know their own mind, but NOT hedge what they publicly says now because of being SO CONCERNED about election campaigns in the future, as Kiar seems to be. April 22, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Did you see Marty Kiar's tweet about why FL Fair Districts & the FL Democrats NEVER made public -and submitted- their Redistricting maps when they had the chance?
Actually, he never did.

Not once.

http://twitter.com/#!/repmartinkiar

On the other hand, Kiar, who, as I wrote the other day here, is running for the Broward County Comm. District 8 seat currently held by term-limited Ilene Lieberman, never neglected to tell us what he perceived to be very important insider info on all sorts of matters.


Things like how many miles he ran that day in preparation for running in a marathon, and how many doors he knocked on -he actually did it during Dolphins home loss to Tebow-led Broncos and a later home win against Buffalo- mentioned that he was at various state Redistricting meetings around the state and, even -wait for it- the sex of his unborn child, the latter being a fact that nobody outside of his family and immediate circle of friends could possibly care about... and TMI.


On October 19th of last year he even tweeted a link to an Orlando Sentinel editorial about two companion bills dealing with the public's right to speak to elected officials at public meetings that he and Sen. Joe Negron of Stuart offered, Senate Bill 206 and HB 355. 
Bills that I and almost everyone reading this blog would wholeheartedly agree with, in my case, because of what I and my friends and other HB residents have had to deal with for years at Hallandale Beach City Hall.
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=47498


Let citizens be heard by their government
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-10-20/news/os-ed-public-meeting-speakers-102011-20111019_1_citizens-appeals-bodies


Unfortunately, both bills died the first week of March. 
How come he never tweeted about that?



NEGRON BILL GUARANTEEING RIGHT TO SPEAK AT PUBLIC MEETINGS DIES IN HOUSE
www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/mar/13/bill-guaranteeing-right-to-speak-at-public-dies/


(Residency-challenged Rep. Frank Artiles of House 119 voted against it on 2/3/12 in the Rulemaking & Regulation Subcommittee, but it still passed 12-3.)



Similarly, he tweets that he ran the Disney Marathon but, incredulously, doesn't give his time.
Really.


As someone with a sister who runs in a lot of marathons across the country, I can say with little chance of being wrong that Marty Kiar may be the first person in the history of Twitter -at least in South Florida- to run a marathon, mention it in a tweet but NOT give his time, even if it isn't a PR.

He mentions the sex of his soon-too-be second child but the subject of Democratic-drawn maps that conformed to the two Constitutional Amendments that were overwhelmingly approved by Florida voters, something that was in the news about every day for a couple of months, he tweets nothing about?
Yes.

That's very curious when you consider that for better than a year, we were all told over-and-over by the members of the Florida news media that the people running Fair Districts Florida wanted us to know that they were really looking out for all our best interests after we came thru and gave them the big election victories, but on the other hand, they also wanted us to know that the Florida GOP, on the other hand, well, you know them.

They'll do nothing but try to obfuscate and prevent the people of this state from ever seeing competitive districts drawn for a change so that real ideas and issues might matter more than PAC contributions or a candidates race, ethnicity or religion.
You know the Florida GOP, they said with a sly wink, they'll keep up the long and treasured Sunshine State tradition of pols choosing their districts, rather than have voters choose them, the way it was always explained in high school Social Studies books once upon a time.

Yet what did THEY do?

So now that it's the first week of May and state legislative elections with the Republican-drawn court-approved maps will be held in six months, how come Fair Districts Florida and the Florida Democratic Party STILL haven't explained to the public why they NEVER officially submitted maps to the Florida Senate Redistricting Comm.?

Why?

And better yet, why doesn't the Mainstream News Media in this state, the nation's fourth-largest I remind you, care a whit about that, and never mention that salient fact in their stories about the court siding with the Florida GOP and what those new maps mean?

Not just real competition in some cases, but incumbents running against one another, always a good thing?

It's like they all have a bad case of situational amnesia, and are feigning not knowing what I and many of you reading this already know.

It's galling, just like Kiar's precious tweets.

Yes, it's not only a case of late with the Florida Democratic Party being the dog that doesn't hunt, but when you toss in the incurious state news media to the mix, it's a case of the watchdog that never barks.

Which would make it a lapdog, not a bulldog.


-----
Educating Martin Kiar
http://smashedfrog.blogspot.com/2009/06/educating-martin-kiar.html 

Again? Sunshine State News details more suspect behavior from FairDistricts Florida & their Democratic allies re 2012 redistricting: the very epitome of a backroom deal -theirs! Is that why FairDistricts NEVER submitted a plan in November?

Again? Sunshine State News details even more suspect behavior from the folks at FairDistricts Florida and their Democratic allies re 2012 redistricting: the very epitome of a backroom deal -theirs! 
Is that why Fair Districts NEVER submitted a plan in November?


Coming fresh on the heels of my email and subsequent blog post of Tuesday the 17th, titled

Hypocrisy on FL Redistricting: Why FairDistricts Florida & Florida League of Women Voters are early contenders for this blog's Turkey of the Year Award -all talk, little action and no submitted maps before the legal deadline
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/hypocrisy-on-fl-redistricting-why.html
and the rather stunning news Thursday from Peter Schorschsain at Saint Petersblog that showed how very suspect the judgement of someone at the top like Ellen Freidin (and her husband) were to even the appearance of impropriety... 


Saint Petersblog
Law firm of Fair Districts’ Freidin’s husband donates $500 to 3 FL Supr. Ct. justices before redistricting hearing
Posted by Peter Schorsch, April 19th, 2012
http://saintpetersblog.com/2012/04/law-firm-of-fair-districts-friedins-husband-donates-500-to-3-fl-supr-ct-justices-before-redistricting-hearing/
it's clear that the folks who, first, wanted my signature, and then months later, my vote -twice- are guilty of pulling a fraud all this time, despite their lofty-sounding rhetoric.


And now the specific details of that betrayal are starting to publicly emerge.


The total number of maps submitted by the public to the Florida Senate redistricting committee by the November 1st, 2011 5 p.m. deadline was 156.
Seriously, it's one thing to complain from the sidelines, but to remain on the sidelines and  submit ZERO actual plans to the state Senate to vote upon after you actually win a resounding victory from Florida voters with 63% of the vote?
What sort of geniuses do that?


Plus, in case you forgot the chronology, on January 27th, there was this bit of news regarding Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich from western Broward:
Rich decides not to file amendment for Dems redistricting map
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/01/rich-decides-not-to-file-amendment-redistricting-map.html


Yes, this all sounds remarkably like someone who wins the war but then loses the peace.
It sounds suspiciously and clumsily Dan Gelber-like to me.


As I wrote here on Tuesday in that referenced blog post, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, thru the Senate Redistricting Comm. had a terrific information-filled website, a  Twitter feed and a YouTube Channel to share information, including clips from the actual redistricting meetings that were held around the state.


Conversely, today, April 22, 2012, when you go to YouTube and do a search for "Ellen Freidin," assuming that over a period of three years, there surely must be at least a few dozen or so videos of her that are at least 30-seconds or longer that have been posted there where she was at least one of the guests -if not the sole interview- of one of the dozens of TV stations in Florida, or even newspaper-affiliated blogs with a YouTube Channel -another area where the Miami Herald is MIA- guess what you find?

No video results for “"Ellen Freidin"”

Surprise!


On the plus side, because most of the videos that were shown as results for the Freidin search were from the Ellen DeGeneres Show, no matter how many times you do it, we were reminded once again of "Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown"
Yes, the lovely, talented and clearly quite-a-handful Miss Bell.







Sunshine State News

Democrats Tried to Hatch Back-Door 'Deal' on Redistricting, Don Gaetz Says

By Kenric Ward

Posted: April 21, 2012 3:55 AM

While publicly posturing for "fairness" in redistricting, a group of top Florida Democrats privately pushed for maps that would benefit party brass, according to documents obtained by Sunshine State News.

Read the rest of the amazing story at: 

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/democrats-tried-hatch-backdoor-deal-redistricting-don-gaetz-says


Well, it's not like we weren't warned in advance, is it?


Nope, over two  years ago there were clear signs of what has come to pass.
Ellen Freidin was given the opportunity by the Florida Senate to try putting together maps according to the parameters of the two Amendments to the Florida Constitution that I voted fo, after urging their passage here on this blog many times.


As Bill Coterell's column below shows, she turned them down.
Earlier this year, they renewed that same offer
She turned them down again. 
So what are we left to think?


Redistricting proposals under fire

Legislators challenge FairDistricts Florida head to redraw district lines

By Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau

February 12, 2010

Florida's two most powerful legislators challenged the head of the FairDistricts Florida campaign Thursday to draw a legal congressional map under the terms the group's proposed constitutional amendment would require if passed.

Ellen Freidin, who chaired the petition campaign that put two constitutional amendments on the November ballot, declined the offer. Worn out by more than three hours of what she described as often rude questions, she accepted software and a batch of paperwork from the 2002 redistricting but said she won't bother trying to draw congressional lines that might suit the openly hostile House and Senate committees.

"Many of the members of this committee are very concerned about losing their opportunity to redraw the districts in 2012 in order to insure their own political perpetuation," she said. "I actually wasn't expecting to be treated quite as rudely as I think that I was treated, quite frankly, but I was expecting a lot of resistance."

FairDistrict's proposed amendments, on the ballot Nov. 2, would prohibit new congressional and legislative districts drawn to favor or handicap any political party or incumbent officeholders. Districts would have to be as nearly equal in population as practical, be compact and respect the boundaries of cities, counties and other communities as much as possible.

They would still be subject to minority-access rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But legislators would no longer be able to concentrate blacks, Hispanics and certain party members into a few districts.

Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, offered to fly Freidin back to Tallahassee, give her access to House and Senate staff and provide any other data or help she needs to draw a sample congressional map.

"This is not rocket science," Freidin, a Miami lawyer, said at a joint meeting of the House and Senate committees. "This Legislature is totally capable of drawing maps with these standards."

Haridopolos and Cannon then pounced.

"We'll give you the software, a week, two weeks, if it's so easy to do," said Haridopolos. "You take the 2002 census data and draw us 25 congressional districts that meet your easy-to-reach criteria."

He added, "Theory is one thing, practice is another."

Freidin asked, "Are you suggesting that redistricting maps can be drawn simply by putting data into a computer?" She said it takes census data, voter registration numbers, performance data from past elections, public testimony by voters and "the collegial work of the legislative body" — none of which she could duplicate in an experiment.

"Will you do it or not?" asked Cannon.

"I don't have a Legislature to work with me on this," she replied. "I don't have public hearings."

Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, told Freidin he has been in the House or Senate through two remapping sessions, in 1992 and 2002, and that it would be impossible to protect minority districts without some "collusion" between the parties. He said the number of black members in the Legislature would decline if members were forbidden to consider party affiliation or incumbency when drawing district lines.

"I absolutely cannot say this more unequivocally," she replied. "There is not any reason to think this is going to impact negatively on minority representation."

She took the occasion to announce that the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches has endorsed the two amendments.

"I know what took place at the table, at night, looking at maps," said Lawson. "We (Democrats) were in the majority then and when we drew them, we thought we were protecting Democrats, and they got defeated anyway."

More than two years later, it's clearly too late for Freiden, Gelber & Company to call a crisis management firm to save them.
They have met the enemy and it is themselves.
-----
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/florida-redistricting/


http://htpolitics.com/?s=redistricting


http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/category/buzz-tags/florida-redistricting


http://saintpetersblog.com/



www.floridaredistricting.org


http://mydistrictbuilder.wordpress.com/



http://www.capitaldatelineonline.com/


http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/


August 31, 2009 Buzz blog
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/ellen-freidin-fair-districts-fla-no-democratic-scheme 

Hypocrisy on FL Redistricting: Why FairDistricts Florida & Florida League of Women Voters are early contenders for this blog's Turkey of the Year Award -all talk, little action and no submitted maps before the legal deadline

VIDEO FOR REDISTRICTING MEETING 1-20-12 http://youtu.be/3Vc7nSMLZU4

Hypocrisy on FL Redistricting: Why FairDistricts Florida & Florida League of Women Voters are early contenders for this blog's Turkey of the Year Award -all talk, little action and no submitted maps before the legal deadline

In my very last blog post, about ethics or rather the lack of them at the Florida Supreme Court, I mentioned that I was not surprised that longtime blog nemesis and South Florida Silver Spoon Dan Gelber was quoted saying that he had no problem with the campaign finance chair of the three Justices up for retention this November actually appearing before them, and seemed unconcerned how this sort of behavior comes across to Florida taxpayers.

But that sort of hypocrisy, galling as it is, is nothing compared to the months of the likes of Gelber & Co. whining and continually criticizing the the Republican-controlled state legislature for NOT revealing the redistricting map proposals before the various official meetings were held all over the state last year.


This despite the stone-cold fact that while the state legislature at least placed video of these meetings on YouTube and had a terrific intuitive website that allowed you to access lots of information, while FairDistricts' website offered little to chew over.


http://www.youtube.com/user/MyFloridaHouse

http://www.floridaredistricting.org/

The videos on redistricting are here: http://www.youtube.com/user/MyFloridaHouse/videos?query=redistricting

And the FairDistricts' mailing list?

Well, all I know is that the last three times that I or anyone else on that list heard from them was Sept. 9th and  November 22nd of last year, and March 15th.


When you claim to be working hard on an important issue but only contact your own supporters three times in seven months, and once while the decisions are being made, frankly, that's pretty feeble, especially given how much the people there are always telling the news media how much you're doing the work for the people.


I vigorously supported both amendments on this blog before the 2010 election, but it's like the folks at FairDistricts are peeing on my leg and trying to convince me that it's raining.
No, it's not.

As you'll recall from my having mentioned it at the time here on the blog, since this state's own Mainstream Media weren't mentioning it then and haven't mentioned it since the maps were revealed months ago, FairDistricts, The Florida League of Women Voters and La Raza and lots of others groups complaining about the lack of transparency in the process not only refused to release drafts or first editions of their own version of what the maps should look like, they also consciously made the decision NOT to hold public meetings around the state in advance of those official meetings, to educate supporters of FairDistricts.
Supporters like me.

How do I know?

Because supporters of FairDistricts, like me, urged them to do so, to ensure that citizens who attended the official meetings wouldn't waste time asking silly questions and could be fully briefed on what to expect.

For the record, I wrote a fact-filled email on August 2nd, 2011 to Jackie Lee, Deirdre Macnab, Margaret Wolter, Elizabeth C. Pines, Annie Betancourt, Sandra Colyer and Adrienne Kaltman, with bcc's to dozens of activists, Broward County and municipal pols, concerned citizens and reporters.

None of these women, who run things at FairDistricts or are the head of the Florida LWV, or the heads of local South Florida LWV chapters ever responded. 

Trust me, that simple fact that didn't go un-noticed or un-commented upon by me or most of the other people who received a copy of that email, and who still have the copy with the names of the women who weren't up to the task.

They could have discussed what some of the more difficult parameters would be for state legislators to square, as well as some of the more parochial factors to consider as well.
But instead of doing something positive, they did nothing.

Who knows, perhaps they were afraid of everyone catching on to the fact that many of the well-known African-Americans and Hispanics in this state who claimed to support the passage of Amendments 5 and 6, frankly, didn't seem to have much of a problem with the absurdity of Corrine Brown's FL-3 CD that currently stretches from Jacksonville to almost Orlando, perhaps, because she's an African-American.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/orlando_opinionators/2011/09/propublica-calls-out-corrine-brown-on-redistricting.html

This, despite the fact that her gerrymandered CD is and was perhaps the worst in the entire country and the poster child for what was wrong in this state and a reason to vote for Amendment 6..

Yes, another case of convenient outrage for some while they traffic in everyday hypocrisy.

As if that wasn't pathetic enough, these very same groups that complained for months NEVER actually submitted their own map proposals before the final deadline, despite being plenty of opportunities.
That would be NEVER as in EVER.

That's an unfortunate and dispiriting fact you didn't see emphasized in any of the accounts you ever saw or read on Channel 4, 6, 7 and 10, or in the Miami Herald or South Florida Sun-Sentinel, despite the fact that is was very important, since it showed that FairDistricts' and the League of Women Voters efforts for months was nothing more than bluffing.
So why didn't the South Florida or statewide MSM ever emphasize this?
Why?

That's good question, but then again, it's not for nothing that none of them was awarded a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for their news coverage the past year, is it?

No, you can tell why that's so everyday when you read the local newspapers or watch TV newscasts, that's no accident!

Most fair-minded people I know who supported the FairDistrict amendments thought that the failure to make an example out of Brown's CD would show that FairDistricts, despite winning at the ballot box, wasn't prepared to do the things necessary to show how serious they were.

Hmm-mm... and what happened to Brown's CD?

Oh, right, from FairDistricts and the League of Women Voters, nothing, since they submitted no maps..
But the state legislature decided that her snake-like district was no longer acceptable.
http://censusvalidator.blob.core.windows.net/mydistrictbuilderdata/Graphics/Enacted%20Congressional%20Districts.pdf


More on Brown here:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/03/corrine_brown_and_the_forgotten_innocent.html

Wow! + Awkward! = FL State Supreme Court Judges' campaign finance chairs actually arguing cases before them! Justices laugh at your quaint notions of ethics & 'appearances'!

View Larger Map
Florida Supreme Court, 500 S. Duval Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399

Florida's Supreme Court Justices and their politically-connected friends laugh at your quaint notions of ethics and appearances -their very own campaign finance managers argue cases before them! 
Sure, in a state full of attorneys, the Supreme Court Justices aiming to be retained this year couldn't find one who wouldn't be appearing before them to head their merit retention committee? Really?

Folks, this is Florida, it's every man and woman for himself.


News-Press.com (Southwest Florida)
Florida Supreme Court battle brings campaign chairman before court
Written by, Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
7:03 PM, Apr. 12, 2012

TALLAHASSEE - In late February, the committees spearheading campaigns for Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince held a fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Miami.

At the top of the invitation to the event were the names of some of the co-chairmen of each of the justices' campaigns, including former Justice Raoul Cantero, who heads up Pariente's "committee of responsible persons" -- essentially, the organization that will campaign to keep her when voters cast ballots in merit retention elections in November.

Read the rest of the post at: 
http://www.news-press.com/article/20120412/NEWS0107/120412035/Florida-Supreme-Court-battle-brings-campaign-chairman-before-court

Why am I not surprised that longtime blog nemesis and South Florida Silver Spoon Dan Gelber is quoted here, or that he actually says that he has no problem with how this (unethical on its face) behavior comes across to the general public?
Correct, experience.

Still, I guarantee you that within the next six months, one of Gelber's reporter friends at the Miami Herald will dutifully quote him saying something or another about some subject where part of his argument will be that "appearances" really matter.

Yes, just not when it comes to his particular goose and gander I guess.

But they do. 

Roll Call's Joshua Miller throws some cold water on Dem's rose-colored view of Florida 2012 as a target-rich environment

2012 Redistricting Process: 100 Map Milestone

http://youtu.be/ZV9cjAypnqg

Roll Call's Joshua Miller throws some cold water on Dem's rose-colored view of Florida 2012 as a target-rich environment.

One 2009 study from professors at Stanford University and the University of Michigan found that because of the nature of the geographic distribution of Democratic voters in Florida, the GOP would have a natural edge in a purely nonpartisan Congressional map.

Roll Call

Democrats Betting Big on Florida Redistricting

New Fair Districts Law Will Prevent Major GOP Gerrymander, but Huge Gains Are Not Likely

By Joshua Miller, Roll Call Staff

Nov. 8, 2011, Midnight

Florida is a state where, as millions of Disney World-bound children know, dreams come true.

But for national Democrats who hope a new redistricting law will help them pick up five or six House seats — and boost their prospects for winning back the House — the Sunshine State reality won’t be so warm.

-----

Steve Schale's infrequent blog is at http://www.stevenschale.com/ and is subtitled, Observations on the Land of 29 from one of its leading political strategists.

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/

Stuart Rothenberg http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyFloridaHouse