RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/top-new-york-court-tosses-out-redistricting-map-in-massive-defeat-for-democrats

“If the congressional maps had stayed in effect, Democrats likely would have expanded their 19-8 majority to 22-4 under the new lines, according to experts’ testimony. The state lost a seat during the most recent census.Because Wednesday’s ruling, a 4-3 decision, came from the highest court in the state, Democrats will likely not be able to appeal.”

New York’s highest court threw out the state’s redistricting maps, dealing a massive blow to Democrats for the 2022 midterm election cycle.

The New York State Court of Appeals sided with lower courts in its determination that the three maps were unconstitutionally gerrymandered and ordered the adoption of a neutral plan to be crafted by a special master.

The maps were “procedurally unconstitutional, and the congressional map is also substantively unconstitutional as drawn with impermissible partisan purpose,” the court said. “We are confident that, in consultation with the Board of Elections, Supreme Court can swiftly develop a schedule to facilitate an August primary election, allowing time for the adoption of new constitutional maps.”

The Democratic-controlled legislature’s decision to draw its own maps when the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission failed to reach a consensus was unconstitutional, petitioners successfully argued.

“Petitioners first asserted that, in light of the lack of compliance by the IRC and the legislature with the procedures set forth in the Constitution, the legislature’s enactment of the 2022 redistricting maps contravened the Constitution,” the Wednesday ruling said. “To conclude otherwise, petitioners contend, would be to render the 2014 amendments — touted as an important reform of the redistricting process — functionally meaningless. We agree.”

Last week, the state’s maps for U.S. House seats and state legislative seats were stricken by a five-judge panel, which found that “evidence of the largely one-party process used to enact the 2022 congressional map, a comparison of the 2022 congressional map to the 2012 congressional map, and the expert opinion and supporting analysis of Sean P. Trende, met petitioners’ burden of establishing that the 2022 congressional map was drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats.”

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/can-desantis-get-past-the-donald/

Last week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis took two big steps to solidify his popularity with the Republican base, not only in his home state but across the nation.

First, he won the hearts and minds of conservative voters and many independent parents by passing a law that prevents teachers from discussing sensitive topics of gender and sexual orientation with young students (grades three and under). Second, he confronted and defeated one of Florida’s largest and most influential employers, Disney World, on a vital issue. He stripped Disney of its special privilege to govern the vast territory it owns near Orlando.

Both moves are popular in their own right — the first with parents, the second with Republican voters and perhaps others. That popularity is important, but commentators have missed the subtext, why those battles matter so much for DeSantis’s political prospects. What his legislative victories demonstrate is that DeSantis is willing to fight hard against formidable opposition on high-profile issues, including cultural issues. That is exactly what Republican voters want today.

The key word here is fight. The go-along-to-get-along days of Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush are dead and buried. The undertaker was Donald Trump. His eagerness to take on those fights has been central to his success. DeSantis is showing he is just as willing. In fact, he’s trying to show that, like Trump, he is not just willing but eager. He relishes the battles with Hollywood leftists, teachers’ unions, woke corporations, and federal bureaucrats. And he wants to show he can win those fights.

DeSantis’s victories put him at the forefront of his party on a theme that really matters to Republican voters, and to many independents as well. They don’t think K Street lobbyists, unions, Hollywood celebrities, federal bureaucrats, and big corporations are on their side. And, except for the lobbyists (who go wherever the money is), they know these groups are all firmly attached to the Democratic Party. Republican voters want a leader who will confront these entrenched groups — not reluctantly but eagerly — and beat them. That’s exactly what DeSantis showed them last week.