Republicans can’t say they weren’t warned

I’ve been reporting for a while that Republicans believe re-redistricting is a new tool to expand the GOP majority in the U.S. House. I’ve also been reporting that it’s a scheme that can backfire — Dems can do it too.

And now it seems an effort is underway to start leveling the playing field.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has spoken with several Democratic governors in recent weeks about the possibility of revisiting their states’ Congressional lines in response to the ongoing Republican-led redistricting in Georgia, according to informed party sources.

Faced with the prospect of Republicans redrawing Congressional lines in a third state since the initial 2001 round of redistricting ended, a faction of national Democrats is urging an aggressive strategy aimed at striking back at Republican House Members in states like New Mexico and Illinois.

“We have to stop playing defense and go on the offensive,” said Howard Wolfson, who served as executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2002 cycle and is now a consultant with the Glover Park Group.

“The only way to stop them from doing this is to make them pay a price for it somewhere else,” said a longtime House strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Damn straight. Complaining about these outrageous stunts clearly isn’t enough; Republicans will stop abusing the system for partisan gain when Dems make the same abuses to hurt Republicans. They’ve really left Dems with no other choice.

Democrats believe their best opportunities lie in Illinois, New Mexico and Louisiana, where Democrats have seized control of all the levers of state government in those states since the 2001 reapportionment and redistricting.

Democratic Govs. Rod Blagojevich (Ill.) and Bill Richardson (N.M.) as well as high-ranking Louisiana elected officials have been contacted by members of House leadership led by Hoyer since the Georgia legislature began their re-redistricting.

Illinois, in particular, appears ideal. Like Texas and Georgia, the state’s redistricting occurred before a switch in partisan control. In 2002, Dems won back majorities across the board, which by Republican logic, means Illinois’ Dems are well within their rights to trash the old map and craft a new one that makes it almost impossible for several House Republicans to stay in office. What’s good for the goose…

Indeed, if the process does move forward in Illinois, there are several congressional districts that can be re-drawn for Dems’ benefit. Just for entertainment’s sake, I say we start with Illinois’ 14th, home to a guy named Dennis Hastert.