As we inch ominously ever closer to the fiscal 'cliff', it's becoming clear that the Republicans have little to no leverage in this negotiation. They squeal and flail trying to invent some, like arbitrarily inserting the debt ceiling into the deal, laughing at President Obama's proposal, and leaking details of the private discussions. But one of their favorite talking points is that they have the majority in the House and, at least according to them that trumps the Senate majority and the White House.
It's not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal... Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox and he lost the Civil War. The Democrats won by 3% of the vote and they did not hold the House. Republicans won the House. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that's what the administration is asking of Republicans.
Well, here's a reminder to the GOP - Democrats actually got more votes in the House than Republicans. Only thanks to their own gerrymandering did Republicans stay in majority control of the House.
According to an analysis done by Mother Jones:
Americans woke up on November 7 having elected a Democratic president, expanded the Democratic majority in the Senate, and preserved the Republican majority in the House.
That's not what they voted for, though. Most Americans voted for Democratic representation in the House. The votes are still being counted, but as of now it looks as if Democrats have a slight edge in the popular vote for House seats, 49 percent-48.2 percent, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Still, as the Post's Aaron Blake notes, the 233-195 seat majority the GOP will likely end up with represents the GOP's "second-biggest House majority in 60 years and their third-biggest since the Great Depression."
So how did Republicans keep their House majority despite more Americans voting for the other party—something that has only happened three times in the last hundred years, according to political analyst Richard Winger? Because they drew the lines.
After Republicans swept into power in state legislatures in 2010, the GOP gerrymandered key states, redrawing House district boundaries to favor Republicans
According to conservative pundits far and wide, Speaker Boehner has a greater mandate than President Obama as a result of the November elections:
According to Will, House Republicans possess a greater mandate because "almost every member of John Boehner's caucus won his or her seat by a much bigger margin than Mr. Obama won his renewed term."
Here's a link to
video (that will not embed) of George Will making the comment that America sent GOP Congress persons back to the House to put the brakes on President Obama:
In making this comment, Will joined a chorus of right-wing media figures who have denied an Obama mandate in the wake of his electoral victory. During the November 7 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox News contributor Dick Morris claimed that Obama does not have a mandate because "he is the first President of the United States ever to be re-elected by less than he got elected by." The same day, The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that "Speaker John Boehner can negotiate knowing he has as much of a mandate as the President."
These claims ignore that the continued Republican majority in the House is the result of favorable redistricting rather than the will of the people.
According to The Washington Post, Democratic candidates captured 49 percent of the popular vote in House races compared to the Republican's 48.2 percent. Still, Republicans will fill at least 30 more seats than Democrats during the 113th Congress.
Boehner and his caucus and friends in the media will continue to remind us of their majority in the House as the mandate to put the brakes on President Obama's proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy as representative of the people. But the House majority is a result of favorable redistricting thanks to Republican takeover of state legislatures thanks to the efforts of such groups as those funded by the
Koch Bros. Don't buy it and don't let them pound this talking point into truthiness.