Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Heckuva Job MALDEF

I have a hard time feeling sorry for MALDEF and its unhappiness over the new interim maps.  This is the same group that in early February cut a deal with Greg Abbott on Congressional and State House maps.  Even then the deal was a sham.

From MALDEF's and the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force press release on Feb. 6
MALDEF and the Task Force believe the congressional plan reflects the tremendous demographic growth in Texas: Latinos represented 65 percent of all new growth in the state since 2000. There are nine Latino opportunity districts statewide: CD 15, 16, 20, 23, 28, 29, 33, 34 and 35. No incumbents have been drawn out of their existing districts; and there has been no retrogression of existing African American opportunity districts. The new plan is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court remand to utilize the state enacted map, with the exception of where legal defects exist under the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution. 
According to the 2010 Census, Hispanic and Latino Texans are now 37.6% of the population in the state.   Texas will now have 36 seats.  Percentage wise Hispanics and Latinos should be the majority in 13-14 Congressional seats.  Yet MALDEF and the Task Force were praising 9 seats.  Including the 3 African American districts and it would have meant 1 additional minority seat in Texas.  WOW! 1 more seat.

FYI, here's the racial breakdown from the Census:
Non-Hispanic White: 45.3%
Hispanic or Latino: 37.6%
Black or African American: 11.8%
Asian: 3.8%
Native American: .7%
Pacific Islander: .1%

Now the interim maps are out and MALDEF is upset.  Maybe if MALDEF had stuck with the rest of the plaintiffs...

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