It's basically just a photo-op. They have to know that they can't actually get what they say they want out of this, so they're trying to extract as much out of it as they can, with as many high-profile events as they can contrive.

It's like their "we need to negotiate" statements. At this point, the Republicans have no leverage; any "deal" they make would be completely one-sided, because they have nothing to offer the Democrats, who already have what they want.

Not really. The mere geography of it favors Republicans due to rural sprawl. Building evenly-designed districts would still favor them, just not as egregiously as some of the artistic shapes they've got in some states currently.

I propose use of a computer program following certain rules, working one square mile at a time, starting from the state capitol building and radiating outward until it has enough "blocks" to form a district, then for the next block it processes, that becomes block one of a new district, which radiates outward until it forms a district.

Shots have been fired, Congress is on lock down 1 injury

I don't see our politicians as binary. The gerrymandering doesn't just mean "Republicans win X seats, Democrats win Y seats." It also means "District X is drawn such that its representative has little pressure to moderate and much to pander to the local political extreme." I'd argue we're seeing the effects here: the reason many Republicans here in particular are okay with standing firm is that their districts are drawn in such a way that compromising/moderating their position may do them more harm than good.

What was the statistic: even though the Republican Party is receiving the brunt of the blame here, the voter impact is going to be disproportionately in the Senate, with only about 12 Republican House seats being endangered?

Fake edit: here's the first google result I pulled up on the subject. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-republicans-deal-97768.html

So everyone knows, there is enough votes to pass a budget, or cont. resolution, in the house but John Boehner won't allow it to come up to a vote. As speaker of the house, he controls what comes up to a vote and what doesn't.

Since March the senate has passed something like 17 bills and sent it to the house, only for the house to attach defunding obama care ( the affordable care act) to the bill.  You ran on this idea and lost.

So Republicans are holding us hostage to defund the affordable care act. However they ran on this idea in the 2012 election, they lost the senate and presidency.

House Republicans only won the house because they Gerrymandering all the Congressional districts. Democratic house members got way more votes. Around 1.4 million more votes then republican congressman.

Point being, you ran on this idea, you lost, get over and let the government run. Personally I think this is horrible and childish politics. Also many Republicans agree. 17 already joined with the democrats and that's why the government can be started any day. however the speaker ( John boehner) of the house won't allow it to come up for a vote..

So this really just a Republican shutdown, PERIOD> Also this is making them look horrible. So keep it up. They are getting the blame for this. Exremism on the Republicans ticket is flooding people over to the Democrats. Have a Nice day.

Gerrymandering.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/53151884#53151884

Boehner has enough votes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/02/clean-funding-bill_n_4031784.html

You mean one dead?

3 days without a government and look what has happened. Olympus Has Fallen and *what is the name of another movie?* IRL :D

UPD: Video: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-03/video-washington-dc-car-chase

I kinda get used to police firing a weapon whenever they have a slightest chance to do it, and in many cases they're right (better suspect's live than a cop's), but even if she left the crime scene I don't see a reason to kill her goddamnit.

From what I hear, the reason that the US can't pass a budget is not actually because of Obama, but because the Kamikaze party doesn't want all Americans to have healthcare, so they shut down the government.

The US has been sliding downhill hard since you let the Bush Kamikaze party into power. The US government is a joke.

Which this guy would be super excited about.

Without the Bancour or something similar, he'd argue the kind of interconnectivity we have now only leads to greater instability.

It's been a week, is it time to turn the government back on yet? Or do they need more time to think about what they've done?

Eh,  Democrats Gerrymand just as much as Republicans do.  At least when they control the local machinery.  See Illnois for example. 

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0608/Democrats-revenge-in-2012-a-radical-Illinois-gerrymander

 Or Florida... http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/03/insider-emails-show-fl-democrats-tried-to-gerrymander-redistricting-just-like-gop.html

Back before this whole shutdown, NPR had quite a few good shows on gerrymandering, oh probably about 6  months ago.

People just don't make as big a deal about it, because of who the voters in both parties are.

diluting the power of a bunch of poor white rural dudes doesn't really have the same national bite as say putting a large amount of hispanic people in one hispanic disctric.

Outside which, i feel gerrymandering is greatly overstated.

Ihttp://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/07/no-gerrymandering-not-destroying-democracy/67730/

Neighborhoods themselves are being more poralized before gerrymandering ever even happens.  Additionally, in some ways doesn't gerrymandering... make sense if it's done in specific ways.

I mean these districts are mostly just used to decide who represents them politically.  So if you arrange it so that everyone who agrees politically is in the same distirct... that seems like a GOOD thing.

I mean seriousky,   does it make more sense to have. two 90% districts one Republican and one Democrat, where 90% of the people are going to be happy about the guys they vote for?   Or two 50% districts where half the people are going to be pissed about their poltician at any time and feel they aren't represented?

I mean quite honestly, I live in a "moderate" district that has a lot of republicans and a lot of democrats... and it's a pain in the fucking ass.  As you never know what someones going to complain about politics wise and always have to be ready for people to get into full out shouting matches for no good reason.