Clarence Thomas is well down the path of being one of the worst Supreme Court justices in US history – he seldom speaks out in hearings, and always occupies the far corners of extreme right wing ideology, sometimes even further to the right of Antonin Scalia if that was even possible.  That changed yesterday, when he sided with the court’s 4 liberal justices to strike down North Carolina’s 2011 gerrymander which packed two districts with African Americans, the First and Twelfth, virtually nullifying their votes.  The result of this racial gerrymander was, even though  North Carolina has a Democratic governor, Republicans now hold 10 of the state’s 13 congressional seats.  Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, struck down the gerrymander because race was used as the deciding factor in determining district borders.

Gerrymandering is a cancer on democracy, I believe even more than money.  Since the advent of sophisticated demographics computer programs, the practiced has been raised to an art form by Republicans, cementing huge congressional majorities in some states, disenfranchising millions of voters.  Thomas has always sided with conservatives on voting rights issues, especially when it comes to money.  This decision is a pleasant, if not shocking, turn of events.  Maybe Thomas is getting a condition of reverse dementia where he gets more thoughtful the older he gets.  No one knows, but this is a huge victory for a democratic society.