Supreme Court Says Gerrymandering Fix Up To Voters, Not Judges

Supreme Court Says Gerrymandering Fix Up To Voters, Not Judges

In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is not unconstitutional.

The majority ruled that gerrymandering is outside the scope and power of the federal courts to adjudicate. The issue is a political one, according to the court, not a legal one.

“Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority decision. “But the fact that such gerrymandering is incompatible with democratic principles does not mean that the solution lies with the federal judiciary.”

So for now, partisan gerrymandering, in which politicians get to choose their voters rather than voters choose their representatives, will remain a fact of American political life.

What is the background to this decision? And what does the decision mean for democracy in the U.S.?

Democrats Court Rural Southern Voters With Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union Response

Democrats Court Rural Southern Voters With Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union Response

By Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Scieence and Director of the African American Studies Program, University of Florida. First published on The Conversation

In a brief, direct and optimistic speech about fighting immigrant scapegoating, racism and voter suppression, Stacey Abrams celebrated diversity in her Democratic rebuttal to Donald Trump’s divisive 2019 State of the Union address.

“We will create a stronger America together,” she said.

Abrams is the first African-American woman to deliver a State of the Union response in the 53-year history of this tradition. She is the first black woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor. Before that, she was the first African-American ever to serve as House minority leader in the Georgia General Assembly.

Her State of the Union response has increased speculation that she is a rising political starwith a bright future in the Democratic Party.

By choosing Abrams to give the State of the Union response, Democrats were clearly reaching out to African-Americans and women, a key base for the party.

But Abrams’ speech also spoke to an often-overlooked constituency the Democratic Party may not have even thought about when they picked her. It’s a constituency Abrams has already cultivated: rural Southerners of color.

Abrams campaigned in both urban and rural counties last year, defying the logic of a Democratic Party that tends to court big city voters while leaving rural Americans to be won over by Republicans like Donald Trump.

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Democratic strategists are seeing another reason for optimism about the midterms: soaring ratings for liberal-leaning MSNBC are up 30 percent over last year, while Fox News and CNN both lost viewers from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018 — dropping 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

I say the ratings surge 1) yes, represents the growing resurgence of the Democratic party but

2) MSNBC has also brought multiple Republican or now Independent never-Trumpers to its voice. Many of the most left-leaning progressives believe that MSNBC has sold its soul and are not happy about these changes.

I say the results confirm the same research posted last night about the new Democratic party: more female than ever; more educated, strategic and thoughtful; younger by far than the Republican party; more interested in solutions as opposed to daily rants Trump style; and --yes -- totally committed to a diverse, multicultural, safe America, environmental action and protection, gender and LGBTQ equality, economic justice and -- I repeat -- progressive business solutions to the problems of 21st century America. Apologies for obvious omissions.

Government alone cannot get us out of this mess.

So FOX News makes us crazy with their outrageous assault on everyone but Trump. But their ratings are down 13% while MSNBC is up 30%. Rhodes scholar Rachel Maddow has the #2 show on cable news and sometimes she does beat Hannity, who did not get a college degree. Rachel is on the move, Hannity is not.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Mn.) Accused of Groping & Forcible Kissing By Broadcaster Leeann Tweeden

Sen. Al Franken (D-Mn.) Accused of Groping & Forcible Kissing By Broadcaster Leeann Tweeden

Broadcaster and model Leeann Tweeden said on Thursday that Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken "forcibly kissed" and groped her during a 2006 USO tour. Franken has apologized and called for a Senate investigation into his own actions. 

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Tweeden wrote in a blog post. “You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later and be ashamed.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on the Senate Ethics Committee to review the 11-year-old allegations against Franken, who first issued a brief statement of apology, then later a longer one in which he called for an investigation, saying, “I will gladly cooperate.”

Tweeden's 2006 USO tour was the ninth for the Fox Sports Network correspondent and fitness model,writes The Washington Post. Franken was an Air America radio host just months away from announcing his Senate candidacy.

Dem Kentucky House Candidate Amy McGrath Delivers Progressive Power Punch Campaign Video

I was jazzed last night, seeing that Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath's story was front page landing photo and story at The Huffington Post.

The retired Marine colonel, wife and mother of three who has been teaching political science at the US Naval Academy, is one of more than 11,000 women pursuing public office after Trump's 2016 election win.

Many of us saw McGrath's incredible campaign ad as a triumph that motivated women in despair over Hillary's loss and Trump's arrival. We forgot in two-minutes of blazing determination to fight for true women's equality the DNC's decision that protecting women's body autonomy is no longer a core Democratic value. Instead, working-class, white men will rule, suggests the DNC, because we must cater again to them.

McGrath has a different vision of how Democrats can win, from the male-dominated DNC, now sounding a bit Republican on women's rights.

Speaking of Trump’s recent decision to ban transgender people from the military, McGrath doesn't waver.

“These people are patriotic Americans who stepped up to the plate,” she explains. “Do you have my back when I’m getting shot at, are you competent, are you someone of integrity? That’s what we really care about.”

Trump’s attempt to ban immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries “is a terrible policy” that amounts to “a strategic win” for the enemies she spent years fighting. This position puts her toe-to-toe with a Trump family that has NEVER served in the American military or even run for public office.

“They want to pit America and Americans against their religion (Islam), and he just handed them the Powerball lottery,” McGrath said. “This is not a war that can be won by more bombs being dropped on people. It’s a war that’s going to be won ... in people’s minds. When you hand the enemy exactly what they want in order to make more propaganda, you’re creating more fighters. This ban does not get to the root of the problem, and it does not protect Americans.”

More tough talk from progressive Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath could prove to be formidable in a Democratic race for one of 24 wins to put the party in control of the House in the 2018 elections. ~ Anne

Democrat Scientists Enter Politics In Check Against Trumplandia's Anti-Intellectualism

Democrat Scientists Enter Politics In Check Against Trumplandia's Anti-Intellectualism

Activism has a new style, writes Politico. The lab-coat liberals are marching on Washington. 

Aghast at Trump's hostility to science in almost every form from climate science to the health benefits of exercise, Democrats and Independents are looking into a black hole of disinformation, as Trump's alt-right Republicans take Washington, accompanied by educated Democrats who know better. 

Researchers traditionally avoided wading into politics, preferring not to rock their funding boats from one political administration to another. Now, as winds of anti-intellectualism sweep America, they are testing whether a significant number in their ranks can win elective office, with the goal of keep science and innovation alive in America. 

Rethinking Federal vs State & Local Governing Thru A Democratic Lens

Rethinking Federal vs State & Local Governing Thru A Democratic Lens

Futurist and urban planner Richard Florida moved his family to Toronto a decade ago. Stunned by Hillary's loss, the theorist pulled back his new book from his publisher to do some serious soul searching.

His meaty article in Politico taps into my own mindset, one that is a total reversal of previous thinking among progressives on the role of the federal govt vs state and city govt. The idea is conservative -- one that puts key decisions about our urban and rural areas more in the hands of state and local govt.

Presently in America, rural Americans in red states are running the country. While it's great that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Democrats' lawsuit about gerrymandering state districts, the decision could go against Dems. The electoral college is stacked against progressives, urban areas and Democrats generally.

The solution? It could only work if we pack up our money, the disproportionate amount of tax dollars blue states send to the federal govt.

Biden-Backed, Ex Goldman Banker Democrat Phil Murphy Headed To November New Jersey Governor Win

Biden-Backed, Ex Goldman Banker Democrat Phil Murphy Headed To November New Jersey Governor Win

Vice President Joe Biden called the upcoming NJ governor's race “the single most important” election of the next three years.

Biden-backed Phil Murphy won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, delivering a Hillary Clinton populist message grounded in his career as a Goldman Sachs banker. Bernie Sanders did not endorse Murphy, although his son did campaign for the candidate.

As Sanders progressives rip into NJ Sen. Corey Booker's ethical credentials in any future presidential race -- having accepted money from big pharma companies in his state -- the Murphy win shows that at a state level, the Sanders wing of the Democratic party is not running the show in New Jersey.

The Murphy primary win -- and expected future win as NJ governor -- also demonstrates that Democrats can run on a platform that shares 95% of Sanders' priorities -- as the 2016 Presidential campaign platform did -- without throwing every person with ties to wealth and big business out of the party as the Sanders camp is demanding.