Democrats took another blow in the fight over congressional redistricting on Wednesday, further solidifying Republican chances as the November mid-terms approach.
As RedState has reported, a shocking, unexpected decision handed the GOP a major win in late March by striking down the Democrat gerrymander, produced jointly by the New York legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul. Further, a subsequent decision added insult to injury by ordering the new map to be ready this year, taking away an escape hatch that Republicans successfully used in Ohio. Also, instead of leaving the final choice on a map to the legislature, it put a special master in charge to ultimately decide what is acceptable.
That sequence of events left the Democrats reeling, as they were counting on a 22-4 R to D split to help deliver an advantage going into the election. In response, a “Hail Mary” attempt to put in place an injunction was made with the argument being that a June 28th primary was set in stone and could not be moved. The judge in the case has now slapped that down. More hilariously, he mocked the Democrats’ argument while doing so.
Judge mocks New York Democrats’ redistricting ‘Hail Mary’ case https://t.co/6SllJRubxQ
— POLITICO Pro (@POLITICOPro) May 4, 2022
Democrats were essentially arguing that the June 28 date “came down on a stone tablet in the middle of the Negev or wherever Moses brought the tablet down from on high,” he said. “There’s just no clear reason to believe that the [military voting] requirements can’t be met by the August date.”
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Kaplan thus denied the request for an injunction. Democrats needed to prove a “clear likelihood of success” in future court arguments to receive that.
“This is a Hail Mary pass, the object of which is to take a long shot try at having the New York primaries conducted on district lines that the state says are unconstitutional,” he said.
You absolutely love to see it. I especially like his mention of Moses bringing the tablets “down from on high.” Democrats weren’t just defeated here; they were mocked and embarrassed by a judge who was having none of their games. That they even attempted this gambit will likely end up making things worse for them in the end.
More importantly, though, the judge is clearly correct on the merits. There is a history of primaries being held well into August in New York, and for Democrats to argue at this point that their egregious, state constitution-violating gerrymander must stand because the June date is immovable is contrary to precedent. Military ballots will have plenty of time to be counted if the primary date is moved. That’s undeniable.
Also worth mentioning is that the legislature did recently submit a newly redrawn map which basically came out to 21-5 R to D and represented very little change to the spaghetti-like lines of the prior map. I have a feeling the judge will see that as an insult, and the special master will now sign off on a map that could leave Democrats losing as many as 7-8 seats in November. That will represent a major turnaround that will put the GOP ahead in redistricting with all the other states already over the finish line.
A month ago, few thought that was possible. Meanwhile, Democrats are going to continue to cope and seethe over their continued failures. It’s a great thing to witness.
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