Oh, of course, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas are not evil or extremist, but that’s how the Left views these two brilliant legal minds. Yeah, remember, these are the Left’s rules. If a Republican nominates them, they’re Nazis. So, it must come as a shock when today these two fixtures of the court’s conservative wing sided with liberals in the recent case concerning the state legislature map of Virginia. Basically, the court ruled that the Virginia Republicans had zero legal standing to challenge a redistricting map that was set forth by a court-appointed “special master” to redraw the districts and shocker—the map is more favorable to Democrats (via WaPo):
Because the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam couldn’t agree last fall on how to redraw the lines, the judges selected a California professor as “special master” to devise a plan. Late Tuesday, the judges said they had chosen a combination of maps from the special master’s plan.
The court ordered the special master to complete a final plan by Tuesday and said either side could submit objections by Feb. 1. The judges will implement the new map soon after.
The maps chosen by the judges would more evenly distribute black voters and put more Democratic-leaning voters into districts held by Republicans.
House Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) would see his district tilt Democratic, shifting 32 percentage points to the left, according to the VPAP analysis of the 2012 results.
Del. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk), the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, would also wind up in a majority-Democratic district, shifting more than 27 points to the left, according to VPAP.
A handful of Democrats who won in 2017 in red or closely divided districts would see their bases get more blue. While many Democratic districts would pick up voters who tend to cast ballots for Republicans, none would become majority Republican, VPAP predicted.
[…]
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the case, though it refused to delay the redistricting effort as it weighs the appeal. Part of what the high court is considering is whether the House Republicans have standing to bring the case.
In Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, #SCOTUS rules that Virginia legislators lack the legal right to appeal a lower-court ruling that requires 11 state legislative districts to be redrawn to correct racial gerrymandering
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 17, 2019
And the question about standing was answered today (via SCOTUSblog):
The Supreme Court has ruled against the Virginia House of Delegates in a racial gerrymandering case that represents a victory for Democrats in the state.
In the 5-4 ruling, the justices found that the House didn't have the standing to appeal a lower court ruling that found that the new district maps must be used ahead of the 2020 elections. Those new maps are already in use.
Democrats claimed that the districts were unlawful because they featured too many black voters, diminishing their power across the state and in other districts.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch.
Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Yeah, you win some and you lose some. If there is one thing that everyone should know by now, it’s that Supreme Court justices can surprise you. David Souter was supposed to be a solid conservative. He ended up forming the core of the liberal wing during his time on the court. Chief Justice John Roberts saved Obamacare from total destruction—at a time when millions were not yet enrolled into this shoddy health care program that would’ve mitigated immensely the political agita for Republicans. And on the liberal side, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sided with conservatives over a case about a prisoner’s supervisory release. I guess she’s canceled now too, huh?
No doubt, I’m not happy about the new map, especially with Virginia’s state elections this November. The GOP has a razor-thin majority in the House of Delegates that could very well be swept away, with a rabid left-wing Democratic Party taking its place. For sure, gun rights will be targeted. They’re already being targeted with this upcoming July 9 special session. Northam will still be governor next year, with a possible Democratic state legislature. The land of Jefferson is about to become a blue state cesspool.