Trump Wins Big as Virginia Dems Won't Go Nuclear to Save 4 House Seats

[LetMyPeopleVote]

This is disappointing
The state’s Democrats have decided against forcing resignations on the state Supreme Court to preserve their redistricting. Funny how Republicans always find a way, and Democrats don’t.

Link to tweet

https://newrepublic.com/article/210250/trump-virginia-dems-redistricting-war

Top Virginia Democrats have decided against exercising a controversial procedural end run around last week’s state Supreme Court ruling that struck down their redistricting, which wiped away a gain of four House seats, the Democratic leader of the state Senate told The New Republic.

The decision—which nixes a complicated idea, discussed over the weekend by Democrats, to replace the state Supreme Court and get the case reheard—is likely to anger rank-and-file Democrats who had hoped the party would respond aggressively to the ruling, which has made it more likely that Republicans hold the House this fall.

The decision also contrasts sharply with moves undertaken by many GOP state legislatures in the South, who are aggressively gerrymandering their states with wild abandon to erase decades-old majority-majority seats from existence, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key Voting Rights Act protection against racial gerrymanders.

“As a practical matter,” Virginia’s state Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said in an interview, the move “would not be capable of being implemented” given the “time frame.”

The decision effectively kills off hopes of getting back the four House seats that Democrats had moved into their column by pulling off a victory in last month’s referendum, which redrew the state’s House map. Last week, the state Supreme Court struck down the new map, wiping away that potential four-seat gain.

[SSJVegeta]

1. Are they appealing to a federal courr?

[hlthe2b]

4. That was my understanding, but won't effect this cycle. Yes. At the very end of the article:

Virginia Democrats still plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Surovell confirmed that even a good ruling would be unlikely to impact this cycle, due to that May 12 deadline. Of course, Virginia and many other Democratic states can redistrict next year in order to offset GOP gerrymanders, and do so in time for the 2028 elections

[SSJVegeta]

12. With Talaricos coattails and a half decent dem gov candidate in TX

I suspect a good number of seats gained in TX alone and a trifecta takeover of the TX government.

[Lovie777]

2. I keep reading that Dems will still win the house......................

[Matthew28]

8. Likely

but probably more like mid 220's instead of mid 230's. 10-15 seats is what this is granted republicans.

[rampartd]

5. there are probably a few more states

that repubs can slice the pie thinner, and now that we have given them this idea to get rid of judges they don;t like i expect to see a lot of mandatory retirements at the state court level.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. There's more than one way to skin a cat. NT

[BannonsLiver]

7. I'm guessing the focus groups weren't keen on their idea.

[Nanjeanne]

16. And don't forget the consultants - you know the same ones that have been wrong over and over but still

getting paid to give bad advice.

[Mad_Machine76]

17. *Is* this a good idea though?

It seems a bit dirty/underhanded to me and, plus, it could backfire or get blocked in the courts. I'm pissed off about what happened in Virginia, but what would we be saying if and when Republicans do something like this, say, in Wisconsin (of course, now that it's been suggested, the Republicans might take it as a dare to try it themselves where they can)?

Does Virgina appoint or elect its judges?

[MichMan]

20. They are elected by the Legislature to 12 year terms

I'm not so sure that the plan to lower the mandatory retirement age to 54 wouldn't have violated some age discrimination laws.

[Mad_Machine76]

21. Right

I'm glad that we're not going this route.

[ABC123Easy]

9. You hit the nail on the head

"Funny how Republicans always find a way, and Democrats don’t."

Couldn't say it better myself!

[BannonsLiver]

10. We are usually willing, even enthusiastic doormats.

I bet there will be a few responses in this thread from folks who are happy VA Dems aren’t going to do anything bold because that would be “too much like the other side and we don’t want that”. You can practically set your watch to it.

[W_HAMILTON]

15. It helps when voters on your side don't sit out elections.

If *just enough* on our side hadn't done it so often in recent memory, WE would be the ones with stumbling block after stumbling block in place to thwart Republicans.

Instead, Republicans are the ones who have been fighting to win these elections and fill judicial vacancies with judges that often serve for decades.

Meanwhile, we have some on our side hiring for prominent roles fucking morons that thought the Supreme Court wasn't worth supporting Democratic candidates over -- in elections against Trump, no less!

[Mad_Machine76]

19. People showing up to vote in every election, frankly, would solve so many more problems

then having to try to react to extreme situations like this and figure out end runs around other barriers.

[republianmushroom]

11. The old guard still controls.

[in2herbs]

13. All of our protests against the regieme have been peaceful even while citizens are being kidnapped

and murdered in front of our very eyes! I viewed this VA option as a peaceful protest, but obviously there are Ds in power who don't even want us to do that.

[Duncan Grant]

14. Is the current crisis of democracy really so bad? We'll get 'em next time.

(Voters are telling our legislators to fight like hell and they’re fighting like heck. A difference I won’t soon forget.)

[FascismIsDeath]

18. If the Senate Majority leader says they don't have time to pull off something that would likely fail anyway...

...I'll take his word for it. He speaks with more credibility on it than anyone posting here does.