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The mainstream media doesn’t understand a very basic point. Texas and California are both redrawing their congressional district maps, but they aren’t doing the same thing.
On CNN, gubernatorial candidate and former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) responded when asked if California redistricting was an example of two wrongs not making a right.
Video:
Porter said:
What California is doing is very different than what Texas is doing. First, California was hopeful that if we said that we would do this, that Texas would stand down, that they would go back to what we’ve seen, which is redistricting only following a census.
They have not. Second, the Texas legislature is the one acting here. A deeply gerrymandered legislature in California who’s gonna make this decision. The people of California. So we are using a Democratic tool to reshape our democracy in response to the extreme undemocratic authoritarian activity that we are seeing out of Washington.
And the last thing I will say is, this is temporary. Built into the language that Californians will be considering is, uh, is the fact that this will, California will return to, its really leading, groundbreaking, very, very, very excellent independent redistricting process. Here in just a couple of years. So this is a response to what I hope will be short-lived anti-democratic authoritarian activity out of Washington.
This is where the mainstream corporate media completely falls down on the job. California isn’t doing what Texas is doing, and instead of point out the difference, because the difference is critical, the media criticizes Democrats for daring fight back.
Corporate media has surrendered to the point where, unless a viewer is watching MSNBC, they won’t hear the word authoritarian used in connection with Donald Trump.
California is taking an important step to attempt to stop an authoritarian who is trying to rig a midterm election because he knows that his party is going to lose.
Instead of treating California Democrats as if they are villains, the press should be covering the state that feels the need to take this action.
Talking about why California is doing this would lead to discussing Trump’s contemptuous undemocratic ways, and since the vast majority of the press is too scared even to bring up the subject, Katie Porter has to explain on television that what her state is doing is a move to protect and strengthen democracy, not gut and weaken it.
What do you think about Katie Porter’s interview on CNN? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
