Friday Funnies: This Time, the Joke’s on all of You – Colorado’s Congressional and State Legislative District Maps

The long saga of Colorado’s Congressional redistricting and state legislative district reapportionment has been decided for the next decade by the Colorado Supreme Court in a pair of recent rulings (ruling to uphold Denver District Court Judge Robert Hyatt’s ruling on Congressional Redistricting December 5th, then ruling to uphold the Colorado Reapportionment Commission’s resubmitted state legislative district maps on December 12th).

Over a million Colorado citizens weren’t laughing when they discovered they’d been moved into new Congressional districts by court order, and even more Colorado voters didn’t get the joke when they were shuffled into new (and at times bizarrely formed) state legislative districts, either – contrary to the views expressed by countless individuals who’d testified at many hearings over the summer (one round of hearings in June, followed by another round of public hearings on maps incorporating public comment and testimony throughout the month of August) and contrary to the objections raised by numerous city and country governments filing legal challenges against the commission’s constitutionally suspect maps.

However, even in the aftermath of such tectonic shifts in Colorado’s political landscape, there’s some humor to be found – as illustrated by the following political cartoon, courtesy of Benjamin Hummel (creator of Politix Cartoons):

“Benjamin Hummel, the creator of Politix Cartoons, is the greatest conservative political cartoonist within a one mile radius of his studio in Golden, Colorado. Outside that, his work has been republished on several blogs, including JonCaldara.com, PoliticalLore.com and PARitzer.com. As a member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, his work has also been published in several textbooks and university handbooks across the nation, and his blog Politixcartoons.com has an international following.”

REFERENCE:

In response to numerous requests and for handy reference, links to Colorado’s Congressional District and state legislative district maps are posted below:

Congressional District map:

(DETAIL: the Denver Post has created a “find your congressional district” application)

State legislative district maps:

• House Map: Final House Plan Maps and Reports (original link no longer active)
  • Final House Plan Maps and Reports 
  • Individual House District Maps (11 x 17 format)
  • Individual House District Information Sheets
  • 24″ x 36″ House Map
• Senate Map: Final Senate Plan Maps and Reports (original link no longer active)
  • Final Senate Plan Maps and Reports
  • Individual Senate District Maps (11 x 17 format)
  • Individual Senate District Information Sheets
  • 24″ x 36″ Senate Map
• Google Earth maps (requires Google Earth download):
• Final House Plan (download zip file), Final Senate Plan (download zip file

Additional references:

• Additional information is also available on the Reapportionment Commission website.
• Constitutional Provisions Controlling Reapportionment/Redistricting (state website listing relevant legal language on Congressional redistricting & state legislative reapportionment)

Clear The Bench Colorado will, with your support, continue to promote transparency and accountability in the Colorado judiciary, informing the public to increase awareness of the substantial public policy implications of an unrestrained activism and political agendas in the courts.  We will continue to work to educate voters and provide information of relevance related to the judicial branch, and to provide useful and substantive evaluations of judicial performance.

However, we can’t do it alone –  we need your continued support; via your comments (Sound Off!) and, yes, your contributions.  Freedom isn’t free –nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.

Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.