In a 5 to 4 decision along partisan lines, the Supreme Court decided that they would not intervene in cases of obvious gerrymandering in states to give an electoral advantage (nearly always Rethuglican) to the party with the majority in their state legislatures. The decision opens the door to Rethug politicians who have been redrawing Congressional districts following the 2010 Census to isolate Dem voters in discrete, oddly-shaped districts, avoiding serious challenges to their incumbency. The next Census is in 2020, so if Dems are to reverse the gerrymandering that's disadvantaged them, they need to focus much more attention on electing Dems in state legislature races. The ruling is another example of why elections matter, not just in Presidential elections but at the state level. In North Carolina alone, the Dems were cheated out of several Congressional districts in an increasingly purple state.
Speaking of the Census, the Court also ruled that, for now, the Trump regime was prohibited from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, something that was clearly aimed at suppressing responses from Hispanic and other immigrant families who may have undocumented family members in their households that would have to be identified. Federal resources decisions are based in many cases on Census data, and if minority populations are undercounted, it means fewer resources. There's also the fear that the data could be used for deportation activities. A temporary win, but this Court has shown its right wing partisanship repeatedly, so nothing is safe.
BONUS: Justice Elena Kagan dissented from the majority opinion, and concluded her dissent with these words:
“Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent.”BONUS II: Trump's reaction to the Court's ruling on the Census -- "delay the Census" -- says everything about his attempt to use it for naked political and racist motives.
2 comments:
Just one of many decisions that show how the newly seated Supreme Court is going to play. I was hopeful when I heard that they had declined to allow the citizenship question on the census, so at least we got that point.
donnah -- It's worrisome that the Census decision is apparently temporary. I don't trust that they won't reverse course before the Census is taken.
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