McConnell aims to cling to power by creating an American underclass that pays taxes but cannot vote and gets no benefits. His scheme overturns the American principle of no taxation without representation by:
- Stacking the courts
- Distorting the census results
- Controlling voting power through redistricting
How does McConnell's history of stacking the courts fit into his scheme? Which states will be hurt? Why redistricting is so important?
Background
"The Supreme Court will take up President Trump’s unprecedented effort to exclude illegal immigrants from the population totals used to allocate U.S. House of Representatives districts to states. Civil rights groups argue that the Republican president’s move could leave several million people uncounted and cause California, Texas and New Jersey to lose House seats, which are based on a state’s population count in the decennial census. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority including three justices appointed by Trump." - HuffPost
"Trump’s appeal could shift congressional seats from states with large immigrant populations, such as California, and spare some rural and Republican areas, such as Alabama, expected to lose a member of Congress. Opponents say this reapportionment is directly contradicted by the Constitution’s requirement to base apportionment of the House of Representatives on “the whole number of persons in each state” as determined by the once-a-decade census." - Washington Post
Cut the crap
Wily politicians disguise their real motives behind high sounding, bogus arguments. Don't be taken in by their double-talk - language that appears to be earnest and meaningful but in fact is nonsense.
Cut through their crap to expose what they are really doing. Present the facts clearly, concisely in form that's easy to read and share. I recommend the free StoryMaps app that lets you combine text, images, videos and maps into an interactive digital story that can be seen on a phone or laptop. You can revise your story at any time. In this StoryMap I used:
Data from Living Atlas
Affordable cartoons from Political Cartoons
Free, open source images from Unsplash
Headlines from different sources listed in the Credits
Takeaway
Messaging matters. Keep it simple. Make it timely. Try the free StoryMaps app.
Contact me if you are working on a story related to civil rights or social justice, and need some pro bono help to get started.