Good News for America.
The Republicans controlling Texas government have spent about the same as landing on Boardwalk with five hotels to keep Texas bizarrely districted to give Republicans more control.
The GOP argued that “one-man, one-vote,” meant that we count registered voters only. Of course that’s not what it means and it’s taken millions of taxpayer dollars and years of battling to get a damn unanimous decision from the Supremes.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion. “History, our decisions, and settled practice in all 50 States and countless local jurisdictions point in the same direction: Total-population apportionment meets the Equal Protection demand, by rendering each representative alert to the interest and constituent-service requests of all who dwell in the representative’s district,” she wrote.
When was the last time you saw a unanimous decision from this court? Thank God they didn’t let Scalia vote from the grave.
Progressives are doing a happy dance.
Next, they’ll move to counting registered voters only, and hope that President Cruz appoints a sovereign citizen to sit on the Supreme Court.
1Barney Frank described the snacibupeR: “Half of them are Michele Bachmann. The other half are afraid of losing a primary to Michele Bachmann.”
Without a Democratic Senate, Judge Garland will be older than RBG by the time his nomination receives a hearing.
Meanwhile, Drumpf would place Ivana in charge of Health and Human Services, Ksuchasheis would set up tents for the elderly, while Crooze would flatten the Middle East to hasten his “End Times.”
We spent 8 years in fear that someone would toss a nuke into DeeCee to take that madman Dubya out of the White House. With the current crop of snacilbupeR candidates, that nuke will be “just a matter of when.”
Please vote!
2A decision the other way would have given even more power to the more rural and more Republican areas. They’ve got too much now. When the Constitution gave each state two senators, I don’t believe they knew that Wyoming, with a smaller population (586,000) than DC or our adjacent county, would have the same say in the senate as California, with nearly 40 million. That’s not anywhere close to “one person, one vote.” We’re stuck with it, but we don’t need to make it worse.
Someone showed that senators representing 11% of the US population could filibuster (or threaten to) and block bills supported by senators representing the other 89%. And because there are more Dems in cities, those 11% are GOP.
3I noticed that even Clarence Thomas voted against; however, his comments suggest he would be happier if states take it upon themselves to deny representation to citizens. Hopefully he will leave the court soon.
4What Sam said. Don’t dance too happy yet. All this decision says is that the courts can’t force this count-registered-voters-only bullshit on the states; if the states do the forcing, who knows what will happen.
5Now if only we could find representatives who are, “alert to the interest and constituent-service requests of all who dwell in the representative’s district”.
6So far, the SCOTUS 8 have performed progressively well with regard to unions and now the Equal Protection of representation, but some important upcoming issues with a 4-4 tie will allow lower court (State) decisions to stand.
7Texas is keeping SCOTUS busy with Fisher vs. the Univ. of Texas on affirmive action and Whole Women’s Health vs. Cole regarding the Teas law that closed about 75% of clinics in the state. Then there’s the case against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration and the Zubic vs. Burwell case against the Obamacare birth control mandate.
The lower court rulings in Texas may be upheld.
Why is Paxton so damn happy about the decisuin?
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement: “We are pleased with the unanimous decision of the court. My office is committed to defending the Constitution and ensuring the state legislature, representing the citizens, continues to have the freedom to ensure voting rights consistent with the Constitution.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article69831807.html#storylink=cpy
8Beware. George Mason University is now hot on the trail of renaming their law school for Scalia. Fortunately, this has to get through some sort of an accreditation outfit for law schools. Public resistance is building based on Scalia’s “originalism.” The law school has been doing just fine without his name over the door. It won’t buy that school any more power or endowments than it can get now. What a waste of time and money!
9Wonder if this decision will help our senators understand that they represent all of us, not just the folks who voted for them?
10Maggie
I don’t know. I think that the Antonin Scala School of Law at George Mason University (ASSoL @ GMU) has a certain ring to it
11No, no, no crone! snacilbupeR senators represent the Kochs! Silly girl.
12Arakasi wins the internet tonight! How insightful and hilarious!
13Arakasi wins!
14Thank you, Arakasi! I needed that this morning.
15Could someone please enlighten me on this decision. I am missing the point here. This decision is what the state of Texas-i.e. the enemy- wanted. Why it it so good for TWMDBS???? Did someone broker as peace deal between them and us and forgot to tell me?
16I wondered about that too. Y’all figure out why Paxton et al are happy, unless it’s just PR, and tell me.
17Marge Wood. maybe we are both on glue.
18If you are going to use registered voters in redistricting in follows that the same criteria should be used for apportionment of congressional seats among the states. Since Texas has a very low percentage of eligible voters registered, the state would loose seats in congress. Instead of 32 we might have only 10 or so.
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