Former President Barack Obama criticized the Texas GOP’s redistricting plan as a “power grab” that undermines democracy. However, a past initiative suggests he was part of an early effort to help Democrats engage in their own gerrymandering.
Texas Democrats fled the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass the proposed congressional maps, escalating a national redistricting battle ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Obama appears to be supporting their efforts.
"We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections," he suggested in a post on X. "This is a power grab that undermines our democracy."
Democrats seem united in the thought that they must avoid democracy at all costs to save democracy, which is bat guano insane.
DIVE DEEPER: JB Pritzker Enters the Chat on Texas Redistricting Debate and Learns It Was Not a Good Idea
New: Texas Democrats Make an Even Dumber Move, and You Just Have to Laugh at This Point
As is often the case, Obama's pompous narcissism is only outshone by his hypocrisy. And he's demonstrating all the qualities of a raging hypocrite in spades here.
The former president shared a post from All On The Line, a campaign affiliated with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), and a group that teamed up with Obama to create a program known as "Redistricting U" in 2019.
Obama, in announcing the effort, said he could not "wait to begin organizing when the redistricting process starts in 2021," adding, "we need to build this movement from the ground up–right now.”
Critics, though, quickly pushed back on the notion that Obama and the NDRC were interested in promoting "fair maps" as opposed to "favorable maps."
Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) pointed out that the effort had little to do with opposition to drawing congressional districts based on partisan interests, and more to do with benefiting the Democrat party solely.
He shared an IRS tax exemption form from 2017 that featured the NDRC describing their mission: "Favorably position Democrats for the redistricting process."
Fox News reported at the time that "Redistricting U" was “focused on impacting the redrawing of congressional districts, which will take place in 2021 following the collection of data in the 2020 census.”
Which redistricting processes excited Obama in 2021? Well, Illinois, the state that helped launch his political career, for one.
Illinois Democrats, with full control of the redistricting process, proposed a congressional map in October 2021 that aimed to secure 14 of the state’s 17 House seats for Democrats, despite Republicans arguing it was a "shameless gerrymander."
An alternative map, floated by Democratic operatives, was even more aggressive, potentially limiting Republicans to just two seats.
All on the Line supported these efforts by mobilizing activists trained through "Redistricting U" to advocate for maps that amplified Democratic-leaning districts.
The final Illinois map received an "F" grade from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project for its partisan bias, pointing to a "significant Democratic advantage."
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!