In the past couple of weeks, CNN and MSNBC have shown multiple double standards by peddling misinformation about Texas’s congressional redistricting plan to accuse Republicans of cutting minority representation in the state while ignoring aggressive gerrymandering by Illinois Democrats. Inadvertently, some suggested that Republicans could prevent any black member of Congress being elected to Texas.
Additionally, the liberal networks — each of which only has one Hispanic host anchoring on weekdays (and until recently had zero) — pushed for racial quotas to guarantee more representation for Latinos, and even understated the number of minority majority districts.
Contrary to reports that Texas Republicans hoarded both of the state’s new congressional districts, the GOP legislature handed one new seat to Democrats by drawing the 37th district in the Austin area where Joe Biden received 75.2 percent (according to data recently released by the Texas Tribune
CNN’s Ed Lavandera, jumping to the conclusion that white voters equal Republicans, claimed both districts would likely elect Republicans while coverage did not acknowledge Democrats would get a new seat, sometimes emphasizing the total number of white majority districts.
And without informing viewers that the GOP increased the number of minority majority districts (based on eligible voters) from 14 to 15, both networks seized on the solidly Democratic 35th district having its Hispanic percentage trimmed from 53 to 48 percent to claim that a Hispanic district had been eliminated.
Hispanics, though a minority in seven districts, would make up 26 percent of the total population in 10 districts. Five other districts would have a majority that is non-white, with no particular ethnic group being the majority.
It is noteworthy that, while CNN cited U.S. Census reports that 39.3 percent of Texas residents are Hispanic, CNN’s exit polling found that, on Election Day 2020, only 23 percent of voters in the state were Hispanic.
Additionally, it was hinted at that the number of black members of Congress was being cut from one to zero because the 30th district’s black percentage is being trimmed a mere three points from 52 to 49 percent. It was not mentioned that there are currently five black members of Congress from Texas, three of whom represent districts in which blacks make up the largest demographic group (of eligible voters), and all five will still be in safe districts where they will likely be reelected.
MSNBC hosts Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow even claimed that the district was being “eliminated,” and, earlier this week, Nicolle Wallace was using the issue to promote an effort by NAACP president Derrick Johnson to get black athletes to boycott the state.
In contrast with their hyperventilating over Texas redistricting, after news broke on Friday that Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger would retire — as he reacted to the release of Democratic-drawn maps that put him into a difficult district — the issue of Illinois Democrats gerrymandering was mostly downplayed as anchors kept trying to focus their attention on the antagonism between Kinzinger and former President Donald Trump.
Anchors were not interested in discussing Illinois Democrats’ attempts to reduce Republicans to only three of the 17 districts. They also did not mention that Illinois would only have one Hispanic majority District, whereas 18% of Illinois residents are Hispanic.
Progressive paid in part for this attack on Republicans, while Liberty Mutual funded it on CNN. You can find their contact information here.
September 19, 2021
Eastern at 5:41
NICOLLE WALKACE It’s desperate, it’s dirty politics, it’s morally reprehensible, it’s anti-democratic, and yet it might also be a sign of great political weakness and fear for Republican lawmakers in Texas who evidently feel they need to use every trick — and I mean trick — in the book just to maintain political power in a state that is trending blue.
We have already discussed the GOP’s malignant crusade on voting rights but further proof today that their effort to put a big fat thumb on the scales of democracy goes much further than that. Last night, lawmakers in Texas approved new U.S. House maps that, according to the Associated PressQuote: “favor incumbents” and surprise “Decreased political representation in growing minority communities”
(…)
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle Reports
October 20, 2021
9:00 a.m.
STEPHANIE RUHLE; The Texas legislature just passed new congressional district maps — they did it on Monday night. The maps will strengthen Texas’ GOP dominance. Here’s what I have to say. Mother JoneAri Berman, a spokesman for the state, points this out. 40% of state’s population is white, with 60 percent of its districts controlled by them. 39 percent of those districts are Latino, while 18% of the districts are Latino. Blacks comprise 12 percent of the population, and Asians 5 percent.
CNN Newsroom
October 20, 2021
2:50 PM
DIANE GALLAGHER – There are now less districts in Texas that have majority Hispanic and black populations. There are seven districts that are majority Hispanic, instead of eight. Additionally, the new Texas maps will show zero Texas districts with a majority black population. The flipside is that 23 of these districts have a white majority and 22 are not eligible voters.
(…)
MSNBC’s The ReidOut
October 20, 2021
7.22 pm
JOY RID: This week, the Republican legislature approved new congressional boundaries. They are overwhelmingly in favor of Republicans and white voters. Minority representation has declined since 2013 when the Voting Rights Act was repealed by the Roberts Supreme Court. Texas was able to draw its maps without the need for federal approval. Jim Crow Version 2.0After today’s defeat vote which would have prohibitedTexas recently enacted extreme racial voting.
(…)
7.29 pm
Texas did this by taking white voters, who make up 40% of the total population, and giving them 60% of the district seats. Texas has seen a growing majority of them — and that is a good thing. Hispanic — They’ve reduced their representation to 39%, but they now have 18%. And they’ve taken African Americans that no longer seem to exist in Texas as a matter if power, so they don’t give them any. It’s the end of Reconstruction…
(…)
JUANITA TOLIVER, DEMOCRATIC STAGIIST: Again, Even a minority-majority district, which was there already, could be eliminatedThey’re now going to eight from seven.
(…)
CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront
October 20, 2021
7:36 PM
ERIN BURNETT (before commercial break): Plus, Democrats are calling it a “Republican power grab”Texas Republicans are redrawing the congressional map.
(…)
BURNETT (before the commercial break: Texas Republicans charged with stacking cards: Why Democrats claim they are To reduce voting among Latinos, Africans and Asians.
UNIDENTIFIED HISPANIC WOMAN Don’t ignore this: we won’t have representation.
(…)
7.50 pm
BURNETT – Tonight at a Texas Republican Powerplay.A new map of the congressional district was drawn by the legislature for use over the next ten years. Which people do they benefit the most? It’s the white Republican incumbents.
(…)
Don’t forget Lemon tonight
October 20, 2021
11.22 p.m.
DON LEMON (speaking to DNC chairman Jaime Harrison): Texas’s new map would give white Republicans disproportionate representation even as minorities are making up a greater share of the state population. It is clear to see when you examine the data. This is a direct vote restriction for people of color and minorities.How can this be? Why can’t Democrats fight this?
CNN’s New Day
October 21, 2021
6:58 a.m.
JOHN AVALON: This increases the number Republican-dominated Districts from 22 to 25, while The number of electoral districts that have Hispanics as a majority has been reduced from 8 to 7.That’s despite Hispanics in Texas now having roughly the same population as non-Hispanic Whites. But that’s just the beginning. The number of African Americans who make up the majority in a district has been reduced from one to zero.
(…)
CNN’s At This Hour
October 21, 2021
11:56 AM
JESSICAHUSEMAN: VOTEBEAT – All the growth can be attributed to Latino population growth, which the maps ignore. We won’t see any Democratic seats gain in the next election despite the massive growth. Given these lines, I think it is the Republicans last chance to keep power.
KATE BOLDUAN – This is something Ben and I have been discussing for so many years — he has stopped answering my calls. I am just warning everybody. Let’s take a look at Texas’ redistricting this time. Gerrymandering, as I shall declare, is at the root cause of all evil. It is still occurring. These legislators are allowed to make this happen.The journal Ben reports that there’s a small portion in Texas, which is 28 house wide.
Ben Ginsburg, a Republican-leaning CNN contributor, argues it’s better for legislatures to redistrict as they are more accountable than an appointed commission. He also refers to the Illinois gerrymandering done by Democrats.
(…)
CNN’s New Day Weekend
September 23, 2021
8:37 am
ED LAVANDERA Civil rights groups say the two newly created congressional districts in Texas are drawn to give white and likely Republican candidates an advantage. The white voting age population tops over 50 percent in 23 of the 38 congressional districts in Texas. In seven districts, the majority of Latino voters is aged over 50. The majority of voters in congressional districts are not Black or Asian.
MSNBC Velshi
September 23, 2021
9.47 am
ALI VELSHI: Texas redistricting tests whether minority population gains will translate into political clout. Everybody I hear talk about Texas tells me there’s more Democrats moving in, the population change with the growth of the Latino community, the growing power of blacks in Texas, but under these rules it doesn’t matter. It will not change — at least for the time being — the ability for Republicans who are working very hard to disenfranchise voters of color in Texas from continuing to do so.
ROLAND MARTIN: ROLAND MARITTIN: HOST ROLAND MARTIN UNFILTERED. 95 percent growth, or the increase in Texas population has been caused by non-whites. Republican party members are white.
(…)
CNN Newsroom
September 26, 2021
1.48 p.m.
ANA CABRERA is back in Texas with a Republican power grab
(…)
TOM FOREMAN: Under this formula, the white majority districts, 23. Hispanic majority district, 7. So there is a massive advantage being given to the white majority districts which will tend to vote more Republican compared to all the other districts. The Hispanic majority — the Hispanics in the state, the people of color in the state are the reason they got more congressional seats, but their reward for this is their influence politically is being diminished in the state by the Republicans…
(…)
MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show
September 26, 2021
9.56 pm
RACHEL MADOOW: Texas has 11 Hispanic and Latino residents for each one white resident. However, that does not mean they are automatically represented in Congress. Texas’s congressional map now gives two of the new districts to voters with white majorities. Despite the massive increase in Latino populations, the new map decreases the number Hispanic majority district from 8 to 7. The new maps eliminate entirely Texas’s only congressional district where black voters were the majority.
(…)
MSNBC’s Ayman
October 30, 2021
8.24 pm
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: The state added those two new districts because the state’s population grew. And 95 percent of that growth was actually driven by people of color. It was logical that the districts should reflect this vote. Republicans instead chose to grant white voters control over those districts.
(…)
So Hispanic people make up 39 percent of Texas’s population. The numbers speak for themselves. This new map will help you to find your way. they only have the majority in seven out of 38 congressional districts, 30 out of 150 state house districts, and 7 out of 31 state senate districts. That’s about 20 percent of those allotted seats.
This is the first year in nearly 50 years that Texas hasn’t had to get its maps preapproved by the federal government. Before the burden was on Texas to show why their maps actually didn’t discriminate against people of color. Now that the burden is on you, and all others who are challenging this map to show why it discriminates against people with color, it falls upon those of us who want to challenge it.
(…)
MSNBC Deadline: White House
November 1, 2021
5.45 pm
NICOLLEWALLACE: Last week Governor Gregg Abbott signed law the redistricting bill for the state that heavily favors Republicans. Voting strength of minorities is reducedThese people were the ones who have helped to drive Texas’s recent population growth. In response, the NAACP has released an open letter condemning the governor’s action by targeting some very high-profile residents of the state, professional athletes.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, addresses the letter to players in the NBA, NFL and WNBA. The simple message is: “If your goal is to become a free agent in Texas, you should look elsewhere.” Derrick Johnson, president and chief executive officer of NAACP is the letter’s author.
(…)
DERRICK JOHNSON is the NAACP PRESIDENT and CEO. Texas has done a terrible thing by limiting their rights to full citizenship through its redistricting process, which also suffocates Latino and African Americans voices.
(…)
CNN Newsroom
October 29, 2021
1:12 p.m.
GLORIA BORGER
(…)
CNN Newsroom
October 29, 2021
2:10 p.m.
JESSICA DAWN: Redistricting in Illinois played an important role in all of this. A new map came out of redistricting in Illinois earlier today, and he was going to overlap with another GOP member of Congress, so that certainly probably played a role in this as well.
(…)
MSNBC Deadline: White House
October 29, 2021
4:05 p.m.
CARLOS CURBELO, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: By the way, Adam Kinzinger is not running away. He will continue to be active. He’s also a victim of redistricting in Illinois, which is happening all over the country. People should not think he is walking away. He is not. Given the state of Illinois’ maps, he doesn’t really have any choice.
(…)
NICOLLE WALLACE: Was this a surprise to his colleagues or his staff? Or was this, for some of the reasons the congressman cited, expected?
JACKIE ALEMANY, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think regardless of the reality here and the message that former Congressman Curbelo is putting forth here, this is a surprise to some people on Capitol Hill. And it’s also being looked at as a victory for people in Trump’s orbit. Former Trump staffers were seen publicly and privately celebrating a win. It is without doubt a victory for Donald Trump.
(…)
ALEMANY: The slow disintegration of the group of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump, they’ve gotten quieter and quieter, smaller and smaller, and now one of the biggest leaders of that group is calling it quits and throwing in the towel.
(…)
CNN’s The Situation Room
October 29, 2021
6.17 p.m.
BRIAN TODD: One possible reason for Kinzinger’s decision, his Illinois district is being redrawn, which would have pitted him against a Trump ally in his primary. There are many other factors. Kinzinger, one of 10 Republican House Members who voted against Trump in his second impeachment this year. Trump is now hostile to all of them.
Kinzinger and Ohio Congressman Anthony Gonzalez are declining to seek reelection The other eight face primary challenges. Trump issued today a statement stating that “2 down, 8 to go.”
(…)
WOLF BLITZER: What does Kinzinger’s decision to step down say about the Republican party today?
BORGER: It says the Republican party of today is Trump’s. Brian (Todd), who was his opponent, pointed out that he faced a difficult primary because redistricting had been done against someone pro-Trump.
(…)
BLITZER: Gloria, The January 6 Select Committee is composed of just two Republicans, including Congressman Kinzinger. Does the Republican need to be purged from members who are willing to hold Donald Trump responsible?
BORGER: No, they don’t love themYou can read more. You can see who Kevin McCarthy is as the leader in the Republican party’s House delegation.
(…)
CNN Anderson Cooper 360
October 29, 2021
8.18 pm
JOHNBERMAN What does it say that someone like Adam Kinzinger, a military veteran, a lifelong conservative, has concluded he has no place in the House Republican caucus?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, he has obviously been one of the most visible anti-Trump voices, and obviously had fallen under the gaze of Donald Trump. And it would have made it difficult for him to win a primary. What made it it even more difficult of course is what the Democrats did to him in Illinois.
They gerrymandered the state of Illinois to the point where — they did it to him once before and he survived a primary a few years ago — and this time they threw him in with another member of Congress. It was an example of Donald Trump hate for Adam Kinzinger, and Democrats gerrymandering maps converged to get Kinzinger out.
(…)
BERMAN: Adam Kinzinger is often referred to by the likes of President Trump as a RINO, a Republican in Name Only, or a moderate, shorthand there. He is conservative. This can be seen in his voting records. He was rarely seen breaking the ranks. He is a Republican on all policy matters. Trump’s only offense is his crossing of the line.
(…)
CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight
October 29, 2021
11.07 pm
CHARLIE DENT – CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It seems that the mainstream moderate voices are being pushed aside while those who are more extreme are encouraged and supported. It’s this that Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and others who stand up for truth and are principled and thoughtful find themselves not being welcomed into the party. It’s about building a movement that allows people who are principled and center-right to feel at home in the GOP. Many cannot do so right now.
DON LEMON – Redistricting wasn’t helpful, but it didn’t hurt, right?
DENT: Yes. DENT: Correct.
(…)
NBC’s Meet the Press
CHUCK TODD – We have another impediment retirement, Anna Palmer is Adam Kinzinger. And, look, I was skeptical he was ever going to run. He was probably waiting for redistricting to give him the motivation.
(…)
About Post Author
