I want to address the questions now about redistricting: specifically, what should Democrats in reliably Blue States do, if anything, to counter what’s happening in Texas? The answer is simple. We are in the current situation to a decisive degree because the forces of civic democracy have not been willing to use political power with anything like the ruthlessness or aggressiveness of the authoritarian right. The answer is simple. States like California and New York should gerrymander their states to neutralize the Texas power grab. Since more Democratic states have non-partisan commissions by definition the Blue States have more to gain. What about the point of principle? If I were in the positions of the Governors of California or New York I would say if Texas desists or undoes its redistricting and stets it back to the previous maps their states will do the same. This satisfies any point of principle. We need a national redistricting law to create a common framework. Having only one side fighting is stupid. The reality is that the United States is a nation-state. Democracy will stand or fall at that level.
This will become much more relevant when Trump is no longer in power. But the old system has been shattered. Ignore the norms and follow the law. A new system will have to be built to replace the old one which can’t be resuscitated.
