Quote:
Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Jesus Christ. We are talking about different things.
I am not interested in PA. First, because the PA decision has already been made.
Second, here's what is going to happen. Every very red state is going to gerrymander the fuck out of every possible election. And they'll do it with the most sophisticated software, ensuring maximum Republican results, which will mean waaaay more lunatic Freedom Caucus types at every possible level of government.
Then, states like Texas (that are trending blue-ward) will do the same. With their newly gerrymandered state senates, they will change the laws. They will appoint more lunatic judges who will uphold those laws. If a state has a constitutional issue with any of it, Republicans will amend it out of existence or their appointed judges will strike the provision.
But if you think any state where Republicans can now gerrymander themselves into a permanent position of power is going to self-regulate itself to fairness after this decision, you are absolutely crazy.
You combine this decision with the destruction of the Voting Rights Act and Republican goals have been met beyond their wildest dreams. The fact that the Electoral College and the existence of the Senate already gives them outsized political power wasn't enough. Your head is going to fucking spin with the levels of political gerrymandering we're about to go through.
This decision is a fucking joke.
(Also, I don't care what your friends think.)
TM
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That PA has already been decided is immaterial. State supreme courts control decisions regarding interpretation of state constitutions. This means that if TX has a constitution that requires "fair and equal voting" like PA's, and it gerrymanders in some insane way, any citizen of TX can file a suit, which will wind up before the state supreme court on appeal, raising the same issue raised in PA. And this SCOTUS ruling, which is limited to federal intervention in gerrymandering, will not apply.
In PA, the GOP controls House and Senate, and it has for some time. Even with that power, it still could not stop the gerrymandering case from reaching the state supreme court. And no matter what anyone thinks (my friend who works for the GOP included), this new SCOTUS ruling will not imperil the PA supreme court's ruling.
Is this a good situation? No. Am I arguing that you're too worried about what SCOTUS did? No. The sole thing I was offering was a carve-around. Take what I said to be, "Yeah, I hear you. But gerrymandering was dealt with effectively in PA, and that case may provide a template for how it can be dealt with elsewhere."
I totally agree with you that the GOP will go on a lunatic gerrymandering spree as a result of this SCOTUS ruling. But I think this is just going to invite challenges like the one that occurred in PA. And the PA decision is pretty well written. It's going to be hard for even partisan courts in red states to get around that reasoning if they happen to have a constitution similar to PA's, which I'm betting they do.
Is this good for the country? No. Is it certain imminent doom? No. As I read this, SCOTUS punted to the states. PA gave them a roadmap. And you seem to think the states themselves will have to take some "self-regulatory" action. That's just wrong. I don't even know where you come up with that concept. Aggrieved voters simply have to file a lawsuit in response to extreme GOP gerrymandering that is sure to occur in the coming months.
All this ruling has really done is take away federal court as a forum for challenging gerrymandering. That's not good at all. And it will bite the GOP in the ass down the road. But it's not a doomsday event. It just means you have to battle in the state courts.
