The Supreme Court is allowing California to use its new congressional map for this year’s midterm election, clearing the way for the state’s gerrymandered districts as Democrats and Republicans continue their fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The state’s voters approved the redistricting plan last year as a Democratic counterresponse to Texas’ new GOP-friendly map, which President Trump pushed for to help Republicans hold on to their narrow majority in the House.
And in an unsigned order released Wednesday, the high court’s majority denied an emergency request by the California’s Republican Party to block the redistricting plan. The state’s GOP argued that the map violated the U.S. Constitution because its creation was mainly driven by race, not partisan politics. A lower federal court rejected that claim.
There is nothing to celebrate here, and I’m not suggesting there is. This legal blatant gerrymandering bullshit is a net loss for this country and our democracy. I will always advocate against the practice. However, that is not on California, and I don’t think they’re wrong to do it in response to Texas and other states. It is a necessary evil, one that they were forced to make by fascists. I don’t want to kill a person and I certainly would never celebrate doing so. But if there were a gun to my head, or my daughter’s, if they were to try to take away my family, our freedom… I wouldn’t hesitate, and I would be right for it. I don’t think California has anything to apologize for, even if it is a sad outcome overall.