DO REPUBLICANS REPRESENT THE RICHEST CONSTITUENTS? WRONG, IT'S THE DEMOCRATS THAT DO..LATEST MIS-INFORMATION

In major flip, House Dems now represent richest regions of the USA.
Democratic members of the House of Representatives now represent most of the nation's wealthiest people, a sharp turnaround from the long-standing dominance that Republicans have held over affluent districts, and were generally considered as theirs.

A USA TODAY analysis of new Census data found that Democrats represent a far different constituency today than they did in 2005, when they were the minority in the House, or in 1990, when they were the majority.

The Democratic-controlled House is now an unusual combination of the richest and poorest districts, the best and least educated, and the best and the worst insured. The analysis found that Democrats have attracted educated, affluent whites who had tended previously to vote Republican.

Democrats now represent 57% of the 4.8 million households that had incomes of $200,000 or more in 2008. In 2005, Republicans represented 55% of those affluent households.

"Democrats have made enormous gains in affluent, educated suburban districts," says Warren Glimpse, founder of Proximity, a firm that analyzes demographics. "What's not clear is whether this reflects a profound change or a temporary blip."

The Democrats' new coalition of extremes could cause friction on issues such as health care and tax policy because of Democratic proposals to raise taxes on affluent households.

"We're going to win back the hearts and minds of affluent voters when people see what the left-leaning Democrats do on health care and the economy," says Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy. His state's three most affluent districts have flipped from Republican control to Democrats since 2006.

Ruy Teixeira of the liberal Center for American Progress disagrees: "The movement of professionals to the Democratic Party is a long-term realignment in American politics."

"The story is really education," says David Wasserman of the non-partisan Cook Political Report.He says "educated, wine-drinking Democrats" and poorer minority voters are an effective coalition because both groups are increasing in numbers. Even so, Wasserman expects Democrats to lose up to two dozen seats in the 2010 congressional elections, especially in poorer, white districts.

Democrats have virtually erased the historic wealth gap that has long defined the parties and their policies. The median household income of Democratic districts last year was just $1,180 less than in Republican districts, down from $6,793 in 1990.

Wasserman says Republicans have tended to appeal to affluent voters since the Roosevelt era in the 1930s and 1940s but recently have appealed more to Southern and rural voters, who often have lower incomes.

Key demographic findings are also interesting:

• Education Democrats represent the top 10 and bottom 10 districts ranked by the percentage of people holding advanced degrees.

• Health insurance. Democrats represent the 10 districts with the highest levels of health coverage and nine of the 10 with the lowest.

A side note is that if one looks at how the district boundaries are set, it is possible to represent the richest and poorest at the same time is the gerrymandering that goes on to draw district maps to include a large contingent of poor, running the district along one street in a bid city out to the suburbs and then absorbing a wealthy suburb which is drowned out in votes by the innner city resident who may be 80% of the vote.

That's democracy for you!

Just study the map above of Illinois First congressional district, where a former Black Panther anarchist, represents a district that snakes itself into wealthy suburbs and absorbs their vote. Also the other map shows another district (IL 11) that snakes itself to create certain political election results.

The ability to re-draw the districts after a census like the one in 2010, would allow one party to literally kick out an opponent though the re-drawing of the district's boundaries.