Republicans in Georgia to redistrict like Texas

Ed Kilgore of New Donkey.com reports that the Georgia Republicans are going to redistrict Georgia in a mid-decade redistricting effort to remove two Democratic Congressmen. The Republican Party has the bit in its teeth, and (among other excesses) has decided to go wild on Gerrymandering to solidifiy their control of the House of Representatives.

In the meantime, the White House is looking for one Democrat, any Democrat, to support his position on phasing out Social Security. USA Today points out that all he needs is one Democrat, but he can't find one.

"This can't be done without Democrats," says Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank here. "They need the political cover of both parties."

Bush faces two problems. First, his plan to restructure Social Security is being sold as necessary to save the plan after 2052 when the most likely projection by the SSA actuaries state it is likely to use us the last of the Trust Fund and not be receiving as much money in tax payments as has been promised. Unfortunately, the White House has also admitted that their plan to convert to private accounts will not solve that projected problem. That makes it perfectly clear that there is no reason for even discussing private accounts except that is weakens the Democratic Party and is a long term ideological goal of conservatives. They will do anything to accomplish this, no matter how many Americans are hurt by the changes.

Second, individuals Democratic politicians have seen what happens to Democrats who compromise with the Republicans and the Georgia Republicans are repeating the lesson. Karl Rove is known to consider politicians who compromise as weak and vulnerable. Those Democrats who have attempted to work with the Republicans in Bush's first term have invariably found themselves targetted in the next election, and many have been defeated. Senator Max Clelland is only one example.

The lesson for Democrats is clear. There is no political advantage to the individual or the party to be found in compromise with the Republicans, and considering the very destructive proposals they are pushing, no advantage to the nation to let them get away with their idiocies.

Besides, any compromise by Democrats that gets written into a bill in either House of Congress will allow it to pass that House. Then the bill gets sent to a reconciliation committee stacked with Republicans who strip out the compromise before it passes both Houses.

With luck, the Democratic politicians have all taken this lesson to heart. If the Democrats don't become a real opposition party, America is a one-party nation.