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Holder’s redistricting group gets Obama’s database – and cries of partisanship

Eric Holder's organization to combat political and racial gerrymandering is about to acquire Barack Obama's political organization.

The coming merger, between the former attorney general's National Redistricting Action Fund and the former president's Organizing for Action, guarantees that perceived abuses in the world of electoral mapmaking will gain unprecedented prominence during the coming campaign – in time to help shape the once-a-decade redistricting of the House and state legislatures.

But the consolidation also guarantees the burst of additional energy, and money, will be all about benefitting the Democratic side of the debate. And the potential for further partisan polarization of the issue will do nothing to draw the collaboration of Republicans, who will be essential to any widespread depoliticization of the process.


"Simply put: this is a leftist power grab that will undoubtedly bring on more election-time shenanigans," Cheryl Chumley wrote in The Washington Times today. While Holder "says it's all about fairness and equality and democracy and justice," she added, "as every good conservative knows: those are all leftist code words for killing conservatism, one district at a time."

The main consequence of the merger is that Holder's group will have access to Obama's database of supporters, donors and volunteers. The newly enlarged organization plans a series of small house parties across the country March 23 to launch All On The Line, its campaign to promote redistricting reform and participation in the 2020 nationwide headcount.

"The integration of OFA with NDRC, into our redistricting effort, is going to help us have activists all over the country who are fighting for fair maps and more representative democracy," Holder told The Hill. "The integration of OFA with NDRC is an organizational action, and it's really just designed to effectuate that which OFA has always stood for, which is to engage citizens at the local level."

Holder says he will be legally barred from using the Obama database if he decides to run for president.

The NDRC plans to focus its energies on establishing politically competitive and demographically balanced House and legislative maps in six increasingly competitive states where mapmaking is the province of politicians (Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Colorado and Texas) as well as four bellwether states where bipartisan commissions control the process (Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Arizona).

Republicans controlled the redistricting process in seven of the states after the last census. Pennsylvania's delegation is now split, nine Republicans and nine Democrats, after the state's top court declared the earlier map a partisan gerrymander and ordered a new one. In the other six, the GOP holds 65 of the 101 House seats.

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Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., January 29, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Summary

On June 9, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Secretary Kennedy claimed the move was necessary to eliminate “conflicts of interest” and restore public trust in vaccines, which he argued had been compromised by the influence of pharmaceutical companies. However, this decision strays from precedent and has drawn significant criticism from medical experts and public health officials across the country. Some argue that this shake-up undermines scientific independence and opens the door to politicized decision-making in vaccine policy.

Background: What Is ACIP?

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a federal advisory group that helps guide national vaccine policy. Established in 1964, it has over 60 years of credibility as an evidence-based body of medical and scientific experts. ACIP makes official recommendations on vaccine schedules for both children and adults, determining which immunizations are required for school entry, covered by health insurance, and prioritized in public health programs. The committee is composed of specialists in immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, infectious disease, and public health, all of whom are vetted for scientific rigor and ethical standards. ACIP’s guidance holds national weight, shaping both public perception of vaccines and the policies of institutions like schools, hospitals, and insurers.

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MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border
Way into future, RPA Airmen participate in Red Flag 16-2 > Creech ...

MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border

FT HUACHUCA, Ariz. - Inside a windowless and dark shipping container turned into a high-tech surveillance command center, two analysts peered at their own set of six screens that showed data coming in from an MQ-9 Predator B drone. Both were looking for two adults and a child who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and had fled when a Border Patrol agent approached in a truck.

Inside the drone hangar on the other side of the Fort Huachuca base sat another former shipping container, this one occupied by a drone pilot and a camera operator who pivoted the drone's camera to scan nine square miles of shrubs and saguaros for the migrants. Like the command center, the onetime shipping container was dark, lit only by the glow of the computer screens.

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As Trump’s second presidency unfolds, rural America—the foundation of his 2024 election win—is feeling the sting. From collapsing export markets to cuts in healthcare and infrastructure, those very voters are losing faith.

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Trump’s 2.0 Actions Have Harmed Rural America Who Voted for Him

Daryl Royal, the 20-year University of Texas football coach, once said, “You've gotta dance with them that brung ya.” The modern adaptation of that quote is “you gotta dance with the one who brought you to the party.” The expression means you should remain loyal to the people or things that helped you succeed.

Sixty-three percent of America’s 3,144 counties are predominantly rural, and Donald Trump won 93 percent of those counties in 2024. Analyses show that rural counties have become increasingly solid Republican, and Trump’s margin of victory within rural America reached a new high in the 2024 election.

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Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules
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Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules

Trust in elections is fragile – and once lost, it is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild. While Democrats and Republicans disagree on many election policies, there is broad bipartisan agreement on one point: executive branch interference in elections undermines the constitutional authority of states and Congress to determine how elections are run.

Recent executive branch actions threaten to upend this constitutional balance, and Congress must act before it’s too late. To be clear – this is not just about the current president. Keeping the executive branch out of elections is a crucial safeguard against power grabs by any future president, Democrat or Republican.

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