This week, Brian, Chris and Andy discussed gerrymandering, particularly in response to President Trump's push for redistricting in Texas to secure more Republican seats. Brian and Chris highlighted the irony of both Democratic and Republican governors engaging in redistricting efforts to gain political advantage, despite the negative impact on fair representation. They proposed proportional representation and ranked choice voting as potential solutions to minimize the politicization of redistricting and shared information about Virginia's Redistricting Commission as an example of a state attempting to reduce political influence in the redistricting process. The discussion then shifted to President Trump's actions in Washington D.C., including the federalization of DC police, the deployment of the National Guard and both concern and skepticism about the motivations behind these measures. 

Relevant links to today’s episode:

• Texas Democrats once again thwart GOP-led redistricting effort as standoff enters its second week
• Blue-state Republicans sound alarm on redistricting tit-for-tat 
• Mid-decade redistricting unlikely in Va., but Democrats are considering changes to the state’s map-drawing process 
• Virginia Redistricting Commission
• Fair Representation Act (United States)
• Trump to Deploy National Guard to D.C., Take Over City’s Police Department
• Mike Masnick on Bluesky
• Trump moves forward with plans to take control of DC police. Here's what we know
• Durbin slams Trump taking control of DC police as ‘political theater’
• Trump ups rhetoric on D.C. crime and homelessness amid federal crackdown
• Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares a Crime Emergency to Restore Safety in the District of Columbia
• Restoring Law And Order In The District Of Columbia
• Live Updates: Trump Orders National Guard to Washington and Takeover of Capital’s Police (includes the chart referenced in the podcast)
• Trump keeps threatening to federalize D.C. 
• Aaron Rupas on Bluesky: “Bowser: ‘If people are concerned about a president's ability have the MPD be responsive to the DOJ, the time to address that is when we're talking about statehood for DC.’”

Virginia & Other News:

• Spanberger leads Earle-Sears in Virginia: DDHQ average
• Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears Has Contentious Interview on CNN; Board Keeps GMU Prez as Supporters Turn Out at GMU
• ‘Which law should we break?’: School boards across N. Virginia told to comply or face ‘imminent consequences’ 
• Youngkin supports National Guardsmen assisting with ICE deportations 
• Miyares stands out amid talk of split-ticket potential 
• Virginia House in the balance: 5 key races to watch this fall 

We’re all over Bluesky!

• CLPVA on Bluesky: @clpvirginia.org
• Liberal Party USA on Bluesky: @liberalpartyusa.bsky.social
• Brian on Bluesky: @biodoss.bsky.social
• Chris on Bluesky: @frashure.bsky.social
• Andy on Bluesky: @andyjabbour.bsky.social

More:

• Classical Liberal Party of Virginia Open markets. Open minds. Free people. https://clpvirginia.org
• Liberal Party USA: ⁠https://www.liberalpartyusa.org⁠
• Facebook: Classical Liberal Party of Virginia
• Instagram: classicalliberalpartyva
• X, formerly Twitter: @clpvirginia
• Chris Frashure: The Open Mode
• Andy’s writing on Medium