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« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2018, 03:50:09 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 6-19-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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FEATURED ANALYSIS
SCOTUS Leaves Gerrymandering to the States25
Lewis Morris
The Supreme Court decided in two cases Monday on partisan gerrymandering to stay out of the political fray, choosing instead to rule against Democrats in Wisconsin and Republicans in Maryland who sued to change their respective state electoral maps.
In the Wisconsin case, Gill v. Whitford26, the Court ruled 9-0 against a group of Democrat voters who claimed that the state’s redistricting plan was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the alleged dilution of the plaintiff’s voting power is an injury specific to a voting district. “Remedying the individual voter’s harm, therefore, does not necessarily require restructuring of all the state’s legislative districts,” Roberts wrote. The case was sent back to the lower courts for another look.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch objected only in sending the case back for review. “After a year and a half of litigation in the District Court,” Thomas wrote, “the plaintiffs had a more-than-ample opportunity to prove their standing under these principles. They failed to do so.”
In the Maryland case, Benisek v. Lamone27, the Court ruled against Republican voters in Maryland who claimed Democrat officials put them at a disadvantage in drawing a congressional district that led to the defeat of Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett in 2012. In an unsigned opinion, the Court sided with the district court, which decided not to block Maryland from holding congressional elections and forcing the state to redraw the district in question.
The Supreme Court added that the plaintiffs waited too long to seek relief, since they did not ask for an injunction until 2017.
Voting-rights advocates were stunned by the back-to-back decisions. The ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause and other leftist voter groups had hoped the Supreme Court would pass down specific guidance on how to handle these types of cases. In other words, they were hoping that the justices would legislate from the bench.
No such luck. The Supreme Court has a solid track record of stepping around gerrymandering cases and avoiding wading into the political quagmire. Districting is a power delegated to the political branches, notes David French of National Review28. “States can choose different ways to district,” writes French, “but when a state chooses the political path, the Supreme Court’s default position should be to defer, absent clear and unequivocal constitutional violations.” Claiming that your voting power was diluted because your political party happens to be in the minority in your district or state does not constitute a violation of voting rights.
Democrats have cried foul about redistricting for much of this decade because Republicans have won control of so many of the levers of power at the state and national level. Of course, Democrats can thank Barack Obama for their plight29. His presidency drove millions into the waiting arms of the GOP, which picked up close to 1,000 state seats to give it control of two-thirds of state legislatures, as well as winning Congress by gaining 63 House seats and 10 Senate seats. But it wasn’t just Obama who poisoned Democrat fortunes. Activist judges30 are primarily responsible for the pickle the Democrat Party finds itself in with redistricting.
In the 1980s, Democrats redrew congressional districts with the express purpose of putting more blacks and Hispanics in Congress. This effort was clearly aimed to help the Democrat Party because these minority groups vote overwhelmingly Democrat. Districts were remade so that large numbers of minorities would virtually guarantee electing a minority to Congress. However, by grouping minorities into specific districts, other districts inevitably became more nonminority, in some cases overwhelmingly so. The result was that formerly competitive majority-minority districts ended up becoming Republican strongholds with few minority voters.
Democrats should not be puzzled that their high vote counts have not translated into widespread electoral victory. What is happening now is a consequence of their attempts going back 30 years to game the system in their favor. If Democrats want to fix it, they must look elsewhere, because the Supreme Court has decided, at least for this term, that they are on their own.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56634-scotus-leaves-gerrymandering-to-the-states
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
WaPo Employees Demand Bezos Open Up Purse Strings33 — Is the wealthiest man in the world not practicing what he preaches at his own company?
NJ Dem Governor to Blame for Trenton Shooting34 — The gang member and now murderer was released 10 years early thanks to Democrat policies.
Video: Students Say Bakers Should Bake the Cake35 — Campus Reform asks students about the recent Supreme Court case on religious liberty.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Stephen Moore: “All of a sudden, everyone on the Left wants ‘free markets in energy policy.’ As someone who’s advocated for that for, oh, about three decades, this riff should be music to my ears. But is laissez faire energy policy really what liberals are seeking? First, some context. A few weeks ago, liberal activists leaked a draft of a Trump administration directive that would order utilities to purchase coal and nuclear power as part of their energy mix in supplying electricity to homes and businesses. There are good arguments for and against this policy — I’m fairly neutral — but what was fascinating was the indignant response from those on the Left who hate fossil fuels. … The Los Angeles Times slammed the Trump plan as ‘a preposterous idea’: ‘Continuing to operate financially nonviable power plants and forcing grid operators to buy power they don’t need or want is an unacceptable governmental intrusion into the power market that, by one analysis, would needlessly cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.’ This could cost hundreds of millions of dollars? That’s bad, for sure, but have you ever heard the Los Angeles Times rail against subsidies for wind and solar power? I haven’t. The Obama administration’s policy was to try to bankrupt coal, oil and other fossil fuels through regulation, while enriching their renewable energy pals in Silicon Valley with lavish subsidies. … There is nothing more horrifying to proponents of renewable energy than a genuine free market in energy.”
SHORT CUTS
Belly laugh of the week: “Poor FBI — agents who had nothing to do with the improper behavior will have to take a ‘full day of training’ to learn things like: Don’t use work texts with your mistress to conspire to use your official position to impact a presidential election.” —Sharyl Attkisson
Nothing to see here! “[Peter Strzok] was trying to impress the girl he was f—ing! That’s all it was! [Lisa Page] is saying, ‘Oh my God! Is Trump going to be president?’ He says, ‘No, I’m Captain Save-A-Hoe… and I will stop it, baby!’” —Bill Maher
Upright: “It’s a good start for Democrats to be outraged over migrant children separated from their parents. Now do outrage over 1M unborn children separated from their parents by being ripped from their mother’s wombs. Then I’ll know you mean it.” —Liz Wheeler
Nope — they don’t mean it: “Hey dads, Happy #FathersDay! Caring about women’s #reprofreedom & bodily autonomy makes you better at raising future generations of feminists. So if you’re a pro-choice dad & one of the many #MenForChoice, we’re celebrating you today!” —NARAL
Maybe because most Americans see right through this charade? “I just don’t even know why there aren’t uprisings all over the country, and maybe there will be when people realize that [apprehending migrant children] is a policy that they defend.” —Nancy Pelosi
A blind squirrel finds a nut: “We’re in a much better place… We’re on the diplomatic path, as opposed to where we were six or eight months ago [with North Korea].” —Obama’s DNI James Clapper
Self-evaluation: “Our party right now, and I’m probably the only one who says this, is pickled in identity politics and victimology.” —Democrat Matt Flynn, who’s running for governor of Wisconsin
And last… “You think any of these people care about family separation? If they did, they’d be upset about the collapse of the American family, which is measurable and real. They’re not. They welcome that collapse, because strong families are an impediment to their political power.” —Tucker Carlson
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56637-tuesday-short-cuts
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