Certainly we want to be represented in all the legislative holes, but we want to have influence over the legislative process. To get representation at the expense of influence is not democracy as it ought to be practiced. Another black caucus member, Rep. Major Owens of Brooklyn, agreed. Mr. Bositis said he had advised the Congressional Black Caucus about redistricting. They are concerned about the Democrats not losing out in this process.
Republicans say they're eager to keep up the packing trend.
You're still certainly going to see it. Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, who heads the NRCC, said in February that he would sue any state in which Democrats attempt to reduce the number of African-American voters in any given House district. In New Jersey this week, the state Republican party called in African-American Democrats, including a former aide to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to back its contention that the state's redrawn legislative map dilutes minority voters into three districts around Newark. A panel of judges was expected to rule on Tuesday. In Texas, where redistricting plans are still in the works, Republicans have made similar claims about minority voter clout.