David Nir

"I'm going to expel Democratic lawmakers and install lackeys in their place" sure is a message

Via

Like I said, @votealexlee.bsky.social's views are utterly child-like.

"I would rather become an independent nation." Okay, buddy, show us where that's an option.

Wait, you mean it isn't? Back here in the real world, folks who believe in democracy will continue to practice the art of the possible.

Regardless of what ultimately happens with the TX GOP's new gerrymander, it's important to fight for democracy, especially in such a visible, high-profile way. The D quorum-break will help shine an even brighter light on this.

You don't fight because you expect to win. You fight because it's right.

Texas House Dems just put out a press release confirming they've left the state in sufficient numbers to deny the GOP a quorum to pass its new gerrymander. A press conference is scheduled for 7:15 PM (presumably CT). mailchi.mp/texashousede...

Adam Boninca

From today's Nir & Rupar: @davidnir.com breaks down how Texas Republicans are trying to engineer a 60 point (!) rightward swing in Al Green's distract as part of their new ultra-gerrymandered congressional map.

Full episode: www.publicnotice.co/p/republican...

Earle-Sears is from Jamaica, a democratic country that (good for them!) is in the process of ditching King Charles to become a republic.

(Also, you gotta watch the clip. She just tries to filibuster the entire time so that Raju can't get in a single word.)

LIVE SOON: Republicans are rigging the maps Starting Aug 1 at 2:00 PM EDT

Going live with @davidnir.com at 2pm eastern to talk Texas redistricting, new Epstein developments, and more! Tune in:

Oh man. I went to a 50th anniversary screening of The Godfather and there were some people there who were unfamiliar with the film. I learned this—to my amazement—when several in the audience let out cries of astonishment and dismay during the tollbooth scene!

The painful irony of this is that Democrats have achieved results—and that more are within our reach—but we won’t succeed at convincing anyone about them if our focus is on the process of getting them done. Consider how differently these messages land with voters: Instead of saying "passed a law so criminal gun traffickers face up to 15 years in prison," say "put criminal gun traffickers in prison for up to 15 years." Instead of "negotiated with prescription drug companies," say "lowered prescription drug prices by forcing companies to negotiate with Medicare." Instead of “invested $1.5 trillion in transportation infrastructure," say "built 100,000 miles of new roads so your commute is shorter.” Instead of "created the largest climate investment in American history," say "made your electric bill cheaper with more clean energy." Instead of "expanded access to broadband internet," say "brought high-speed internet to rural communities that didn’t have it before."

This is very astute advice from @jessefferguson.bsky.social about how Dems should talk about what they've delivered for voters. time.com/7306863/demo...

Hawaii politics often does not get the attention it deserves on the mainland, but this is a major primary challenge.

Case was one of just four House Ds to support the GOP’s “SAVE” Act, which requires showing proof of citizenship before registering to vote. The others were Cuellar, Golden & MGP.

Morning Digest: Texas GOP unveils new gerrymander targeting five Democratic seats We analyze the changes—many dramatic—to all five districts

www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-di...

Obviously the current White House is rather more than a four bedroom ranch home. Its actual title is the Executive Mansion. And that’s a fair description, a mansion. This is a palace, a very visible statement of monarchical intent. No Kings, no palaces.

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

This is definitely the sort of gang that Senate Democrats should cut a spending deal with!

This table only shows 7 districts. TX has 38.

If you're the kind of person who thinks the only alternative to trading individual stocks is to leave your money in cash, then you definitely shouldn't be trading individual stocks.

Ultimately, though, the end result is the same. Below are three key races: prez in '20 & '24, and Senate in '18, which was Ds' high-water mark

The table is sorted by Senate. At most, you can say that the GOP might not flip all 5 targeted D seats. They did not, however, materially weaken any R seats

District-level election results for 2025 Texas GOP congressional gerrymander

When it comes to the TX GOP's new gerrymander, a lot of folks have asked, "Why are you looking at race X to analyze the map instead of race Y?" Understandable! So we've compiled every statewide race that @davesredist.bsky.social has into a single Google doc—15 in all. Check it out here:

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Texas native Jacob Hernandez (@reubenemoji.bsky.social), a member of The Downballot community who provided deep insight into the GOP's new map on our Discord server.

If you want to join the conversation—which really is terrific—just sign up as a paid subscriber!

This is AWESOME.

When making choices, specifics are always better than generalities. Specifics add dimensions to the work and to the characters. If an actor offers someone a ride in his Z-28, it gives us more information about his character than if he had just offered a ride in his "car." Just knowing whether a player drives a Yugo, a Studebaker, a Ford pickup truck, or a BMW tells us a great deal about his character. Mike Myers, of Saturday Night Live and Wayne's World fame, was especially meticulous about this rule. Even in his scenes at the ImprovOlympic and Second City, he was specific. In a dinner scene, he'd never say, "Pass the ketchup." It would only be, "Pass the Heinz." During a class Mike was teaching at the ImprovOlympic, he created a non-specific character that he called "Vague-Man" to emphasize the point to students. "I'm Vague-Man! I work!" Where? "At the store! I do things! I've got to go someplace now! I'm Vague-Man!" The more specific the choices, the easier they connect to future scenes, and players should always be aware of connections. Characters in a future scene may pass a stalled car by the side of the road; if that stalled car is a Z-28, then a connection is made. (Hemingway knew the value of specific information. That's why, in The Killers, a character doesn't just eat a candy bar—he munches a Baby Ruth.)

I've always loved this little vignette about Mike Myers' approach to comedy. While it's specifically about improv, it applies to comedy in general, too. More specific = more funnier!

From the book "Truth in Comedy" www.amazon.com/Truth-Comedy...

Texas chainsaw gerrymander Listen now | How the GOP is targeting Dems—and how Dems might respond

On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, veteran reporter Ally Mutnick of @punchbowlnews.bsky.social talks with David Beard all about the Texas Chainsaw Gerrymander. Which seats are Republicans targeting, and how might Dems respond? All that and more—listen here!

"Dummymander" is one of those massively overused terms that usually says more about the inflated optimistic hopes of the people using it. Kinda like "nothing burger" or "moderate Republican."

Morning Digest: Texas GOP unveils new gerrymander targeting five Democratic seats We analyze the changes—many dramatic—to all five districts

We take a deep dive into just how the Texas GOP's proposed gerrymander would transform the congressional's boundaries. And we can retire the word "dummymander" as far as this map is concerned.

I tend to feel that that election was too long ago (will be eight years by the next midterms!), and voting patterns have changed a lot since then, especially among many Latinos. Of course, they may shift back! It’s a devilish business!

I don't think that would be especially useful because House races differ so much in competitiveness and candidate quality, especially because of the very issue we're trying to assess here: gerrymandering!

Here's how Beto would have done under each district on the GOP's proposed map (bluest at the top)

No, it's just a transcription of the data you shared in your screenshot.

Compactness is generally only a SCOTUS concern w/r/t VRA & racial gerrymandering, but believe or not, this map is a tiny bit *more* compact based on a couple of metrics calculated by DRA (new map on top; higher = more compact).

You can noodle around here! davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...