Thread by @kurteichenwald

1. People have been attacking the SCOTUS decision on partisan gerrymandering. Let's take this further back. I am a vociferous critic of the narcissistic dems and liberals who "protest vote" or stay home to "send a message."

The end result is destruction of your own beliefs...

2...the three most important votes are 2000, 2010, and 2016. Everyone knows the results of 2000 - many who said there was no difference between Gore and Bush voted for Nader. That surrendered two seats on SCOTUS - one to Roberts, one to Alito (the most intellectually dishonest..

3...justice ever.) It also led the US to drop out of the Kyoto accords on climate change, and to enter the Iraq war. So yes, it was a difference.

The key - THE KEY - election was in 2010. This was the BIG time the protest pouters threw away everything to....

4..."send a message" no one heard. I constantly pointed out - 2010 was a census year. This election was FAR more important than a presidential election. But liberals kept saying they wanted to "send a message" to Obama because he didn't get single payer....

5...the numbers speak volumes on the consequences. In terms of self-identified votes, Democrats were above both Republicans and independents. In fact, the identification numbers were some of the biggest spread ever. Independents were leaning democrats. So 2010 should have been..

6...a dem blowout. Except....

Dems didn't vote. In massive numbers. I argued and argued with people who were "sending a message" trying to get them to understand the consequences of not voting in that election, but they preened and sneered in their self-perceived superiority....

7...so, even though dems were by far the largest group, even though there was a dem in the White House, even though there was a census coming up that could decide congressional districts and voting rights for a decade...huge numbers of dems didn't vote...

8...dem vote dropped more than 8%, GOP climbed more than 9%. Dems lost the House and some key senate races. Worse, they lost legislatures and governorships all over the country. And BAM! Redistricting comes during that time because of census. Gerrymandering, voter ID, purges...

9...of registrations, a zillion different means to stop dem voters. Why? Because there are more dem voters than republicans. Unfortunately, dems have more stupid people who preen about protest voting. Or just don't vote. The Senate tilted on the edge. In 2012 - it was gone.....

10...power mad GOPrs made up rules that allowed them to ignore an Obama nominee for SCOTUS. They had the benefit of Citizens United flooding secret dark money into the campaigns. They had virtual locks on the doors to keep out voters. They just needed the court majorities....

1...to lock it all down. Which leads to 2016, the year democrats committed suicide. With EVERYTHING in the balance, too many democrats continued to act as if the president is king and sat home or protest voted. GOP takes White House - now has Senate, House, White House, states...

12..legislatures, governorships. McConnell, who is a smart man who hates democracy, knew there was one thing that was needed to lock in a Republican majority for decades: A complete takeover of the judiciary NOT by conservative judges, but by partisans. And that is what....

13...he has been doing. The balance of SCOTUS - which would have been 7-3 dem if Clinton had won - was 5-4 GOP. Unfortunately, SCOTUS is no longer a judiciary body and hasn't been for years. It is a lifetime senate. The big thing they were facing was partisan gerrymandering....

14...which had been accomplished because of the 2010 vote where too many democrats "sent a message" by sitting home. And with gerrymandering, here is what transformed: States locked in as GOP, votes of dems worth less than of GOP in many states. Add on voting restrictions, and...

15...you have a wall of locked-in votes that feign democracy, but arent. The only way out was for courts to recognize gerrymandering undermined one person/one vote since votes were worth different amounts. But remember? Dems tossed away the Supreme Court to "send a message"...

16...so now, they act like Bernie or Biden or Warren or whoever matters. Sorry folks. Single payer is GONE. It does raise constitutional questions, and the sole judiciary arbiter is the Republican party. Voting Rights Act is ALREADY gone. And as for policy.....

17...massive deficits growing in a strong economy (unbelievable), climate change ignored, families torn apart at the border, and endless policies that are creating an alt-right paradise.

So, I ask...what were you protesting again? Because you are self-centered fools.