Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, criticized his Democratic colleagues for not adequately opposing Republican gerrymandering efforts in Texas, calling for the party to adopt more aggressive tactics. During an interview on MSNBC’s ‘Ana Cabrera Reports,’ Casar urged Democrats to fight back against GOP tactics by passing federal legislation to end gerrymandering. ‘We need to get to fair rules across the nation and not have Democrats showing up with a butter knife to a gunfight,’ he said, reflecting growing frustration among progressive Democrats. Casar highlighted the current gerrymandering favoring Republicans by 16 seats and warned against allowing right-wing extremists to suppress voting rights without a strong response.
Casar’s frustration reflects a growing sentiment among progressives that Democrats are handicapping themselves when it comes to redrawing congressional districts. Last week, Texas House Republicans introduced a redistricting proposal that could net five new Republican congressional seats. The draft map is likely to change before approval by both state legislative chambers. The proposal would redraw district lines to include more Republican-leaning suburbs or surrounding areas in heavily Democratic cities like Dallas and Houston.
‘But Republicans have been the ones who have blocked that kind of independent redistricting across the nation,’ Casar said. ‘So let’s be clear about who is doing the gerrymandering. It’s the Republicans. The question before us is, should California continue to play by a certain set of rules while letting Greg Abbott suppress people’s voting rights? I don’t think that’s the right way to do it.’
Casar added that he thinks ‘California should have an independent commission when Texas has one,’ and that ‘New York should have a law that says New York will have an independent commission when Florida has one.’ California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) have both said if Texas moves forward with their redistricting plan, they will look at redrawing their congressional districts in their states to make it more favorable to Democrats.
Earlier in his conversation with Cabrera, Casar said Republicans are guilty of gerrymandering. ‘Right now, under our current maps, Congress already has been gerrymandered 16 seats total towards the Republicans,’ Casar claimed. ‘So, at the end of the day, we do need to get rid of gerrymandering nationwide. Pass a federal bill, like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to get rid of gerrymandering and get big money out of politics. But what Democrats can’t continue to do is to allow right-wing extremists in states like Texas to silence our voices, while in blue states we don’t fight back.’
The political battle over redistricting continues amid threats of legal action and calls for independent commissions to oversee the process. With Texas Republicans pushing to reshape congressional districts in a way that benefits their party, Democrats are under pressure to respond effectively, lest they be accused of not doing enough to protect voting rights and ensure fair representation.