Couldn’t they do their cracking and packing without making the districts such ridiculous shapes?

They know which precincts vote for their party so they draw the districts they want by collecting only those precincts. If they aren't contiguous, they connect them with a very narrow, very sparsely populated "corridors." Today, with computers, the process is far quicker and more accurate than in the past.

Here's a good description:

To my disgust some are suggesting the same thing in California.

Districts should be as compact as possible while containing about the same number of people; any other factor should be ignored. Let the votes fall where they may.

Doesn’t CA use a non/bi-partisan redistricting committee? If so, how do lawmakers propose to get past it?

I don’t agree with gerrymandering, but sometimes, you do what you have to do. In this case it’s basically fighting fire with fire, and that something the Democrats have been reluctant to do; we being a dinner fork to a gun fight. Our natural instinct to play by the rules is killing us.

“When the camel’s back is broken, it doesn’t matter how much more gets piled on. You do what you can.”

midterms .

If the Supreme Court allows this, we're doomed, unless we fight back.

Each state makes its own laws regarding how the lines are drawn. SCOTUS could easily require them all to follow the law - and that would give different results because Texas law allows for things that California and New York constitutions forbid.

They would have to hold a special session to propose a constitutional amendment, get a 2/3 vote of both chambers (we have larger majorities in both chambers - but not all agree on this) - and then schedule a special election to get the voters to weigh in (at least 131 days later) - which is not a gurantee since they voted to apply the current amendment to House seats by over 20 points just fifteen years ago.

And when all is said and done... it would be risky even if it worked. There are already far more endangered blue seats than there are red seats in the state. Shifting more red votes into currently blue seats is not without risk.

Note that California is already gerrymandered in our favor. Trump received 56% of the vote in TX and the House delegation 25-14 and they're trying to move it to 30-9. But Harris received 58% of the CA and we already hold a 43-9 advantage in the House delegation. Put another way - they hope to knock us down to 23% of the delegation... but they're already down to 17% in CA.

California and New York. I hate playing by a reactive game plan since it’s usually a race to the bottom. We might get good midterm results but it has to be decisive and overwhelming. Fuck decorum

California went to a non-partisan districting commission some years back to de-politicize re-districting and be "fair".

Time to throw that shit out and Gerrymander a few more lefties out of CA, NY and IL.

The repukes are scared now because they know they are hated by the majority in that state more.

And still lost?

I can dream