In the 1950s and 60s, southern officials — desperate to maintain the racial status quo — regularly ignored court orders affirming the rights of Black Americans.
Ohio redistricting is heavily biased by a conservative legislature. 2022 election used a rejected map of I remember correctly. And the Ohio Supreme Court has a judge who is the son of the governor but who will not recuse himself. If that’s not jacked, I don’t know what is.
North Carolina also used an illegal map, both for 2020 and 2022. And that map has been made legal because the NC Supreme Court got itself a GQP majority last fall.
To be clear for folks who haven’t thought about it ... SCOTUS has no way to enforce its rulings. No prosecutors or investigators; no law enforcement agency.
Wait. Let me get this straight. The party of "Law and Order," those same folks who councel others to "comply with authority" have to be forced to follow the supeme Court rulings (s)? Seriously?
And, if they have their way, they will have history show their election patterns without context or color meaning none of this will make sense to anyone. Then they can say, why teach that nonsense anyway?
Sounds like the Alabama State Leg needs to be kept inside during recess so that they can redo their homework according to the directions. OTH, it could be the work is too advanced for students with obvious gaps in their learning, to say nothing of their ethics and morals.
One of AL’s arguments was their expert had generated thousands of ‘race neutral’maps (the standard they wanted to use) without 2 Black districts. That failed to persuade SCOTUS because among other things A. It didn’t use the state’s criteria for districts and B. According to experts there are at least “trillion trillions” of potential districts that can be computer generated.
The only reason AL has a Black district in the map it drew is because that was court ordered in 1992.
I’m sure Tommy Tuberville is overseeing this and ordering a “Hook Block” play for Fridays deadline. Alabama deserves to be called out on this. Shameful! Thanks Judd for highlighting this travesty.
From what I see in Florida with the tossing out of all mail in ballot requests and these Gerrymandering issues, it’s obvious we have renegade states.
Kentucky GOP wanted to eliminate the remaining Dem Congressional District which is made up mostly of Louisville. McConnell was afraid the entire map could be tossed so they settled for the usual nibbling; a weird district for Comer that runs from Paducah (across the river from St. Louis) to Frankfort (the capital in the center of the state) and reconfiguring state districts to pit women in Dem districts against one another.
Well... actually, they keep proving, day after, day that they're still a bunch of losers who can never win by demonstrating excellent effort, intelligence, and awareness, but only by stacking the deck against everyone else. They LOST the Civil War, but somehow, they've never been able to grieve that loss in healthy ways and move on to become healthy, functional adults. They just keep right on acting like the petulant, adolescent, feelings-hurt, losers they take pride in continuing to be. (To rise above that loser status gets you kicked out of the tribe.)
Have you ever told a southerner that they lost the damn war, so get over it already? I have. It was glorious! I love seeing smoke coming outta peoples ears...lol Really shows lack of brains in there...hahaa
Being told on a daily basis to "go home Yankee", and that "we were there stealing their jobs" got old, real fast. Said the wrong thing to the wrong bitch 😁🤣
Just had that discussion earlier today with someone. ( Regarding some still fighting the Civil war.) Saw a post RECENTLY that said, " The South will rise again." Wanted to say, " Well "Scarlet," my dear....should Southern states decide to go renegade & make that attempt again ( because THE definition of crazy IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN & EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS) save your best draperies, because you're going to need then to make your clothing from, going forward. (For those too young to know, reference to that classic movie, "Gone With the Wind.")
What a miracle that Alabama was able to have Doug Jones as Senator! Jones is white and was educated totally in Alabama schools. After he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, he went on to prosecute and send to jail for life the men [members of KKK] who bombed the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed 4 innocent young black girls. As you probably know, Jones was strongly defeated by Tommy Tuberville.... But, on another good note, Joyce Vance was appointed to the Norther Didtrict of Alabama by Barack Obama, and now teaches law in AL and imparts legal wisdom on TV news shows. So, there are wonderful, non racist white people in Alabama. There must be more we don't know about. I'm reminding myself of the positive because of all that can make me want to "give up."
I remember that after Obama left office, I learned that he and Eric Holder were taking on the project of investigating the issue of gerrymandering across our country. What happened? Did the Koch $dynasty organize a counter effort that has shown up so pervasively? Judd, maybe you and your team could find answers about dirty moneey funding here?
My understanding is that if the legislature fails to generate a compliant map, the process is handed over to an independent special master. Whomever appoints that special master will be crucial, but what happens if the legislature refuses to implement it? Is there a historical analogue?
I don't know if there is a direct comparison, but the National Guard could be used to physically force compliance. As long as Biden is president, he could economically cripple the state by stopping the flow of federal money.
The bigger problem is that we have states acting like independent polities within the most powerful democracy on Earth. They act like little authoritarians, racists, and dictators.
Just so you know since the Trump admin appointed fed judges like that woman in FLA overseeing his documents cases that does not aid any of this being remedied. Worse yet, SCOTUS keeps handing power back to the states. Judd should do a story on that.
Problem is years/ decades in the making and never been addressed as this story implies. The GOP march to minority rule has been crafted by billionaires abd GOP like the Koch bros for decades.
The coffee has been brewing for years. Too many folks haven't smelled it yet or just in the last 7 and their disbelief that it is happening may be too late and certainly leaves many who want to unable to figure out how to stop it.
You are right. Me, I've smelled the brewing coffee since the mid-90s. The huge NYT piece on the conspiracy by right-wing organizations totally vindicated my sentiments since that time. It is plainly obvious that extremists plan to reshape the U.S. Government as a theocracy, and, yes as always, the Republican Party is their vehicle. There is no longer any question.
Indeed, this movement has been moving slealthily since the Kennedy years and before. But they have definitely gained traction and momentum since the 90's and early oughts.
George Wallace would be dancing 🕺🏻 in his grave at the partisan gerrymandering had he not been paralyzed in an attempted assassination while running for the presidency. He would fit in nicely with today’s bigots in DC but he ran as Democrat. I understand he had a change of heart in later years but it apparently did not improve his image of standing in the school house doors to block black admissions to the state university. But for Mark Jones to be critical of all legislators and the people of my HOME STATE for “gaps in their learning, to say nothing of their ethics and morals” is to unjustly generalize and be equally bigoted in outlook. Alabama is a beautiful state with a flawed history but it does not follow that all its people follow in the steps of its most notorious citizen. There are many good and loving, highly educated people there who have for example a world class medical center with a comprehensive cancer center that is one of 15 that have attained high status by the NCI. Do not put all apples in the same basket if you please. I find it offensive and disgusting as I do the racism that persists there and other states as well. Don’t insinuate that Alabama is alone in this situation. We still have mountains to overcome and are not perfect. We even own the notorious Senator Tommy Tuberville; God, we must all be rotten to the core. Just lump us with all Southerners as many love to do as ignorant, back woods hicks without humanity.
Before reading any commentary, I finally (2-3 hours late) just put in my two cents, and focused on the incredibly wonderful white voices in Alabama. [I lost my post twice and had to start all over!]
And bless you for it. Balances out the negative perceptions I see so often, just outright prejudice. Not related at all except regarding Southern Perceptions, did you happen to see Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte in “The Prince of Tides”? Has many elements, spoiler; central to the plot is a violent event that impacts the lives of characters, but in the end Nolte is seen returning to his beloved SC home where I live now. I don’t know how critics received it but I often disagree with them anyway.
I'll have to see it again. I remember really enjoying everything Pat Conroy wrote. (Unfortunately, I remember allowing my suspicion that Streisand hired Nolte because she wanted to "snare" him get in my way of objectivity.).
Many thanks for publicizing this continuing unlawful, morally repugnant conduct by a state legislature controlled by white men. They are following the corrupt practice of "defy & delay" by the "indictee of 2023". And MS imposed judicial apartheid for Jackson, MS, while TX attacks the legal authority of Harris County, TX [Houston].
Looks like a Civil War-era Southern strategy at play here. Not surprising given the ignorant, Trump-loving person Alabama elected to the Senate. I will be interested to see how this defiance of the law plays out. Does the Rule of Law have any teeth with these MAGA States?
Another good reason why Democrats and Independents and sane Republicans should get out to vote for the nominee for President chosen by Democrats. The point being, vote ONLY BLUE. Sane Americans must keep the Presidency and the Senate and take back control of the House. When that happens, we can expand SCOTUS to 13 Justices. With several justices (Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas) on the take (their opinions are "for sale"), we MUST reduce their backwards influence on our nation's laws...... and put our nation back on course for equal justice for ALL. Protect Women's Rights, Eliminate Racial Injustice, Preserve Democracy, VOTE ONLY FOR Democrats.
Tennessee Repub's gerrymandered Davidson County following the 2020 census splitting it into three, all predominately Republican, districts denying our residents from electing a democrat again. The three R's that now represent Davidson County and the City of Nashville, are all Q-Anon conspiracy believers and Trump supporters. I would love to see some legal action here to allow us to select our representative instead of the repesentatives selecting their 'voters'
Ohio redistricting is heavily biased by a conservative legislature. 2022 election used a rejected map of I remember correctly. And the Ohio Supreme Court has a judge who is the son of the governor but who will not recuse himself. If that’s not jacked, I don’t know what is.
North Carolina also used an illegal map, both for 2020 and 2022. And that map has been made legal because the NC Supreme Court got itself a GQP majority last fall.
There’s no recourse for not following the law.
I think that is the end game.
To be clear for folks who haven’t thought about it ... SCOTUS has no way to enforce its rulings. No prosecutors or investigators; no law enforcement agency.
The Republicans are stalling in hopes that they can drag this out until it's too late to get updated maps in place for 2024.
^^^^Exactly.
Wait. Let me get this straight. The party of "Law and Order," those same folks who councel others to "comply with authority" have to be forced to follow the supeme Court rulings (s)? Seriously?
And, if they have their way, they will have history show their election patterns without context or color meaning none of this will make sense to anyone. Then they can say, why teach that nonsense anyway?
Let's talk about Jesus!
Remember that the leading REPUBLICAN contender to run for 2024 presidency is Donald Trump who demonstrates defiance of the law no matter what.
Sounds like the Alabama State Leg needs to be kept inside during recess so that they can redo their homework according to the directions. OTH, it could be the work is too advanced for students with obvious gaps in their learning, to say nothing of their ethics and morals.
One of AL’s arguments was their expert had generated thousands of ‘race neutral’maps (the standard they wanted to use) without 2 Black districts. That failed to persuade SCOTUS because among other things A. It didn’t use the state’s criteria for districts and B. According to experts there are at least “trillion trillions” of potential districts that can be computer generated.
The only reason AL has a Black district in the map it drew is because that was court ordered in 1992.
I’m sure Tommy Tuberville is overseeing this and ordering a “Hook Block” play for Fridays deadline. Alabama deserves to be called out on this. Shameful! Thanks Judd for highlighting this travesty.
From what I see in Florida with the tossing out of all mail in ballot requests and these Gerrymandering issues, it’s obvious we have renegade states.
43 states have Republican controlled legislatures. I would imagine there are gerrymandered districts to their benefit in all 43.
Kentucky GOP wanted to eliminate the remaining Dem Congressional District which is made up mostly of Louisville. McConnell was afraid the entire map could be tossed so they settled for the usual nibbling; a weird district for Comer that runs from Paducah (across the river from St. Louis) to Frankfort (the capital in the center of the state) and reconfiguring state districts to pit women in Dem districts against one another.
Some people are still fighting the Civil War. Sad and pitiful.
Well... actually, they keep proving, day after, day that they're still a bunch of losers who can never win by demonstrating excellent effort, intelligence, and awareness, but only by stacking the deck against everyone else. They LOST the Civil War, but somehow, they've never been able to grieve that loss in healthy ways and move on to become healthy, functional adults. They just keep right on acting like the petulant, adolescent, feelings-hurt, losers they take pride in continuing to be. (To rise above that loser status gets you kicked out of the tribe.)
Truer words never spoken. And they can only "win" when they accept their losses and move the "F" on!
Have you ever told a southerner that they lost the damn war, so get over it already? I have. It was glorious! I love seeing smoke coming outta peoples ears...lol Really shows lack of brains in there...hahaa
Being told on a daily basis to "go home Yankee", and that "we were there stealing their jobs" got old, real fast. Said the wrong thing to the wrong bitch 😁🤣
You are a Bad "B" for realz Terry. Uh, that's if you take my meaning with ALL due respect.
LOL Of course I do, Adam! Thank you!
Just had that discussion earlier today with someone. ( Regarding some still fighting the Civil war.) Saw a post RECENTLY that said, " The South will rise again." Wanted to say, " Well "Scarlet," my dear....should Southern states decide to go renegade & make that attempt again ( because THE definition of crazy IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN & EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS) save your best draperies, because you're going to need then to make your clothing from, going forward. (For those too young to know, reference to that classic movie, "Gone With the Wind.")
What a miracle that Alabama was able to have Doug Jones as Senator! Jones is white and was educated totally in Alabama schools. After he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, he went on to prosecute and send to jail for life the men [members of KKK] who bombed the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed 4 innocent young black girls. As you probably know, Jones was strongly defeated by Tommy Tuberville.... But, on another good note, Joyce Vance was appointed to the Norther Didtrict of Alabama by Barack Obama, and now teaches law in AL and imparts legal wisdom on TV news shows. So, there are wonderful, non racist white people in Alabama. There must be more we don't know about. I'm reminding myself of the positive because of all that can make me want to "give up."
I remember that after Obama left office, I learned that he and Eric Holder were taking on the project of investigating the issue of gerrymandering across our country. What happened? Did the Koch $dynasty organize a counter effort that has shown up so pervasively? Judd, maybe you and your team could find answers about dirty moneey funding here?
Thank you, Valerie! Let the good folks of AL shine as well!
My understanding is that if the legislature fails to generate a compliant map, the process is handed over to an independent special master. Whomever appoints that special master will be crucial, but what happens if the legislature refuses to implement it? Is there a historical analogue?
I don't know if there is a direct comparison, but the National Guard could be used to physically force compliance. As long as Biden is president, he could economically cripple the state by stopping the flow of federal money.
The bigger problem is that we have states acting like independent polities within the most powerful democracy on Earth. They act like little authoritarians, racists, and dictators.
Just so you know since the Trump admin appointed fed judges like that woman in FLA overseeing his documents cases that does not aid any of this being remedied. Worse yet, SCOTUS keeps handing power back to the states. Judd should do a story on that.
Problem is years/ decades in the making and never been addressed as this story implies. The GOP march to minority rule has been crafted by billionaires abd GOP like the Koch bros for decades.
The coffee has been brewing for years. Too many folks haven't smelled it yet or just in the last 7 and their disbelief that it is happening may be too late and certainly leaves many who want to unable to figure out how to stop it.
If it can be.
PS though SCOTUS ruled on this, I don't trust them to do anything substantive about it. Who would they appoint to change it?
You are right. Me, I've smelled the brewing coffee since the mid-90s. The huge NYT piece on the conspiracy by right-wing organizations totally vindicated my sentiments since that time. It is plainly obvious that extremists plan to reshape the U.S. Government as a theocracy, and, yes as always, the Republican Party is their vehicle. There is no longer any question.
Indeed, this movement has been moving slealthily since the Kennedy years and before. But they have definitely gained traction and momentum since the 90's and early oughts.
There has been a precedent set for the NG to be involved, not that long in the past.
To force a legislative body to enact something? I don’t think that would work. Even if it was legal or possible it would be a terrible precedent.
This could get very dicey if the NG showed up uninvited in a state and/or was federalized for that purpose.
Oh agreed! I don't like it either. Not a step to be taken lightly if taken at all. But what to do?
George Wallace would be dancing 🕺🏻 in his grave at the partisan gerrymandering had he not been paralyzed in an attempted assassination while running for the presidency. He would fit in nicely with today’s bigots in DC but he ran as Democrat. I understand he had a change of heart in later years but it apparently did not improve his image of standing in the school house doors to block black admissions to the state university. But for Mark Jones to be critical of all legislators and the people of my HOME STATE for “gaps in their learning, to say nothing of their ethics and morals” is to unjustly generalize and be equally bigoted in outlook. Alabama is a beautiful state with a flawed history but it does not follow that all its people follow in the steps of its most notorious citizen. There are many good and loving, highly educated people there who have for example a world class medical center with a comprehensive cancer center that is one of 15 that have attained high status by the NCI. Do not put all apples in the same basket if you please. I find it offensive and disgusting as I do the racism that persists there and other states as well. Don’t insinuate that Alabama is alone in this situation. We still have mountains to overcome and are not perfect. We even own the notorious Senator Tommy Tuberville; God, we must all be rotten to the core. Just lump us with all Southerners as many love to do as ignorant, back woods hicks without humanity.
Before reading any commentary, I finally (2-3 hours late) just put in my two cents, and focused on the incredibly wonderful white voices in Alabama. [I lost my post twice and had to start all over!]
And bless you for it. Balances out the negative perceptions I see so often, just outright prejudice. Not related at all except regarding Southern Perceptions, did you happen to see Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte in “The Prince of Tides”? Has many elements, spoiler; central to the plot is a violent event that impacts the lives of characters, but in the end Nolte is seen returning to his beloved SC home where I live now. I don’t know how critics received it but I often disagree with them anyway.
I'll have to see it again. I remember really enjoying everything Pat Conroy wrote. (Unfortunately, I remember allowing my suspicion that Streisand hired Nolte because she wanted to "snare" him get in my way of objectivity.).
Nicely done. Wonderfully stated. Thank you for the most appropriate reminder of the positive attitudes existent in our world.
Many thanks for publicizing this continuing unlawful, morally repugnant conduct by a state legislature controlled by white men. They are following the corrupt practice of "defy & delay" by the "indictee of 2023". And MS imposed judicial apartheid for Jackson, MS, while TX attacks the legal authority of Harris County, TX [Houston].
Looks like a Civil War-era Southern strategy at play here. Not surprising given the ignorant, Trump-loving person Alabama elected to the Senate. I will be interested to see how this defiance of the law plays out. Does the Rule of Law have any teeth with these MAGA States?
That is exactly what it is in my opinion. And once we go down that path?
You ever read about the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898? It's a blueprint.
Another good reason why Democrats and Independents and sane Republicans should get out to vote for the nominee for President chosen by Democrats. The point being, vote ONLY BLUE. Sane Americans must keep the Presidency and the Senate and take back control of the House. When that happens, we can expand SCOTUS to 13 Justices. With several justices (Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas) on the take (their opinions are "for sale"), we MUST reduce their backwards influence on our nation's laws...... and put our nation back on course for equal justice for ALL. Protect Women's Rights, Eliminate Racial Injustice, Preserve Democracy, VOTE ONLY FOR Democrats.
Tennessee Repub's gerrymandered Davidson County following the 2020 census splitting it into three, all predominately Republican, districts denying our residents from electing a democrat again. The three R's that now represent Davidson County and the City of Nashville, are all Q-Anon conspiracy believers and Trump supporters. I would love to see some legal action here to allow us to select our representative instead of the repesentatives selecting their 'voters'
sehwnc. What happens if tge state ignores the courts decisions? Can the US Supreme deny all Alabama votes in 2024 be used for any Federal purposes?
Excellent reporting.
Ah! States are free to ignore the supreme court. Guess CA can continue with affirmative action.