Althouse: "The Supreme Court, returning to the long-running issue of the use of race in drawing up new election districts for members of state legislatures..."

June 3, 2014

"The Supreme Court, returning to the long-running issue of the use of race in drawing up new election districts for members of state legislatures..."

"... agreed on Monday to weigh the legality of 'packing' minority voters into districts where they already are in political control, reducing their chance of having influence elsewhere."

26 comments:

RecChief said...: so the unintended consequence of Democrats gerrymandering via the Voting Rights Act giving them a 95% majority has been shown that it isn't in the best interests of Democrats because they really only need a 51% majority, they now want to gerrymander districts to achieve that end. Got it.; 6/3/14, 10:31 AM
Pettifogger said...: So now the court must rule on the precise percentage of minority voters constitutionally permissible in minority districts. Too many, and minority influence in other districts is diminished. Too few, and the district may not be securely minority, especially given different voting-participation rates among different groups. Too bad for those of us who went to law school, because we couldn't do math.; 6/3/14, 10:47 AM
Gahrie said...: I'm troubled by the two underlying assumptions in this case:

1) Minority-majority districts will always elect minorities. (and Democrats) Though I do believe history has proven this one true...has any minority-majority district ever elected a White person? (or a Republican?)

2) Minority political power must be maximized at all costs, and in all cases is a positive good.; 6/3/14, 10:47 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: So if the two Phila city districts were distributed into majority white districts, then the race hustlers would be okay with that?; 6/3/14, 10:50 AM
RecChief said...: AJ Lynch said...
So if the two Phila city districts were distributed into majority white districts, then the race hustlers would be okay with that?

Only if the result is still a minority-majority district but something on the order of 55% instead of 95%. As Gahrie said, the effort is to maximize minority political power.; 6/3/14, 11:06 AM
James Pawlak said...: Am I correct/incorrect in remembering that many of these districts were set up to insure that "minorities" were elected?; 6/3/14, 11:14 AM
Browndog said...: I keep forgetting...

Is it "majority-minority" or "minority-majority"?

Orwellian doublespeak is confusing.

The white middle-class suburbs have been living under the thumb of Detroit voters for decades.; 6/3/14, 11:16 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: I used to live in a majority black district, that of Alcee Hastings. This was on account of a thin line that was drawn to include a pocket of black votes. Basically I had no vote, nor any expectation of help, if any were needed, from my congressman.

Districts should oughta make it at least a little bit necessary to appeal to the whole electorate.; 6/3/14, 11:16 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: "has any minority-majority district ever elected a White person? (or a Republican?)"

There was that one Republican who voted for Obamacare in his one term, he was of East Asian origin, I believe.; 6/3/14, 11:18 AM
Dopey said...: Gahrie --

Tennessee's 9th district is majority minority (Memphis) and has elected a white representative the last two election cycles -- Steve Cohen.; 6/3/14, 12:07 PM
Achilles said...: Just another example that no matter how you cut it when you make policy decisions based on race you get racist policy.

Democrats and progressives have been in the race policy business from the start. Why stop now? They have been trying to keep Black people on the plantation for the last 4 centuries and it seems as if black people want to stay there. Keep voting for democrats if you want your kids to grow up without fathers, in segregated crap schools, all your voters herded into gerrymandered districts, and record levels of crime, unemployment, and poverty.

And don't forget to blame the results of all of these progressive policies on Republicans and especially the tea party. Racists!; 6/3/14, 12:28 PM
Kirk Parker said...: This goes in so completely the wrong direction.

We need a constitutional amendment regarding geographically compact districts. I would hate it, because it would have to get into the level of detail I find inappropriate to constitutions, but I don't see any other way to get there...; 6/3/14, 12:44 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: I live in a very liberal burb and we were moved into a Phila district in 2012 I think. The state Repubs did that to put the majority white libs into an already black majority district [which has elected Rep. Chaka Fatah for about 20 years].

The thing to remember is, every ten years, the party in power in your state gets to oversee this re-districting. It is not like it has never been done before.; 6/3/14, 12:45 PM
David said...: Pack, but don't overpack.; 6/3/14, 12:47 PM
Brando said...: Unless you're arguing for a new requirement that election districts be drawn by a computer to achieve square-ishness with no regard to the political, racial or other makeup of each district's inhabitants, you're just perpetuating the same old problem that party hacks will draw districts to benefit their own partisan leanings.

The hypocrisy on this issue is insane. The Republicans gerrymandered the districts in Texas over the last two census cycles, and of course before that the Democrats had done the same (and continue to do so in Maryland and Massachusetts today). It's absolutely undemocratic--allows the politicians to pick their voters rather than vice versa--and save for vigorous primary challenges it leaves most representatives completely unaccountable to the public.

There's a good reason for a constitutional amendment here. It'll never happen, but it'd be nice.; 6/3/14, 12:56 PM
David said...: There are large numbers of white in the American electorate who vote for candidates who have near unanimous black support.

The main exception has generally been in the south, first with the democrats under segregation and now with Republicans for reasons that may or may not be race related, depending on the voter. (My view is that generally southern Republican voting patterns are only lightly correlated to racial issues but I know that others do not agree.)

There is a danger in all this racial gerrymandering that whites might some day vote in a bloc because they are white. That possibility may seem remote right now, but it's not out of the question.

That would be a bad day indeed, and would confound a lot of politicians.; 6/3/14, 12:59 PM
paul a'barge said...: You know what happens if this is struck down?

No minorities elected anywhere. Period.

Wait until you hear the wailing then.; 6/3/14, 2:02 PM
RecChief said...: Unless you're arguing for a new requirement that election districts be drawn by a computer to achieve square-ishness with no regard to the political, racial or other makeup of each district's inhabitants, you're just perpetuating the same old problem that party hacks will draw districts to benefit their own partisan leanings.

What would be wrong with a computer drawing districts that were all about the number of constituents, rather than take into account other factors? Other than a human would have to program it, and the biases of the programmer(s) would bleed into the algorithm?; 6/3/14, 2:06 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Paul,
"No minorities elected anywhere. Period."

No - it would just require minority politicians to not pander to minorities.; 6/3/14, 2:21 PM
Brando said...: "What would be wrong with a computer drawing districts that were all about the number of constituents, rather than take into account other factors? Other than a human would have to program it, and the biases of the programmer(s) would bleed into the algorithm?"

That would be fine too--the districts would still be square-ish (varying in size as population density varies). The main thing is to separate the drawing of districts as much as possible from politics. It won't completely eliminate overwhelmingly partisan districts, as many will still be overwhelmingly conservative or liberal, but there'd at least be a greater likelihood of competitive districts and the knowledge that the districts weren't engineered to protect some party hack.; 6/3/14, 2:54 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Voting Rights Act in action creates safe black Congressional districts that will usually elect literal morons show off openly they are different from intelligent white people. I hope they don't change this last great form of political entertainment.

In a Governor's or a mayor's race where the winner needs black votes and white votes to win, the intelligence level of all black candidates skyrockets. The current mayor of Atlanta is a good example of a good mayor for both races. Don'd tell Crack.; 6/3/14, 3:16 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Moderate black politicians have been getting elected by mostly-white electorates for many years. Two examples off the top of my head:

1. Edward Brooke was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1962 - 52 years ago! - and then elected Senator in 1966 with 62% of the vote and reelected in 1972 with 64%. This while running as a Republican in one of the most Democratic states in the union, a state less than 3% black.

2. Virginia has a much higher percentage of blacks than Massachusetts, but it's still only around 19%, and Republicans are much stronger here. Nevertheless, moderate Democrat Douglas Wilder got himself elected Lieutenant Governor in 1985, Governor in 1989, and Mayor of Richmond in 2004.

By the way, being a moderate black Republican seems to be good for your health: Brooke and Wilder are both still around, aged 94 and 83, respectively.; 6/3/14, 4:24 PM
Kirk Parker said...: paul a'barge,

"No minorities elected anywhere. Period. "

GMAFB.

I'd vote for Mia Love; I'd vote for Allen West; I might vote for Condi Ric; 6/4/14, 3:59 AM
Drago said...: paul a'barge,

"No minorities elected anywhere. Period. "

Kirk: "I'd vote for Mia Love; I'd vote for Allen West; I might vote for Condi Rice"

Aye, but there's the rub.

According to Crack and the left, the mere fact that you could/would vote for Allen West/Condi Rice others immediately, ipso facto, means that Rice and West are not "Real minorities".

So, Paco's observation holds true.; 6/4/14, 8:29 AM
SGT Ted said...: Democrats love segregated voting districts. Which makes sense, given their history of open racism and support for segregation.; 6/4/14, 8:32 AM
Dr Weevil said...: By the way, soon after Doug Wilder was inaugurated as governor, I passed an actual chain gang picking up trash by the side of I-64. First, there was an empty yellow school-type bus with bars on the windows parked on the grass, then a dozen or so guys in orange jump suits chained together at the ankles and moving along slowly picking up trash, then a smiling guy in a state trooper uniform with Smokey-the-Bear hat and shotgun keeping an eye on them.

What was interesting about this particular chain gang was that all the prisoners seemed to be white - minor drug dealers by the looks of them (skinny, with pony tails and scraggy goatees) - and the guy with the shotgun was black.

Was I shocked and offended in my evil racist soul? No: I thought it was pretty cool and an excellent way to discourage recidivism. A couple of the prisoners covered their faces when I drove by: I assume they were afraid I might be someone who would recognize them, but didn't already know they were in jail.

By the way, it was a beautiful spring day, so some of them may have appreciated getting some fresh air and sunshine, though I'm sure none of them appreciated the chains.; 6/4/14, 4:02 PM