In case you missed it, yesterday, New York Democrats were dealt a pretty crushing blow with a new draft redistricting map that undid some of their past gerrymandering handiwork:
Wow. No more east side / west side Manhattan districts. i.e. Nadler and Maloney would live in the same district. NY-11 has a PVI of R+2.6. Good news for Malliotakis. https://t.co/aW2C5fwyYY pic.twitter.com/wyBxgm9rYj
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) May 16, 2022
Quick, messy analysis: this draft map seems devastating for House Dems. Five districts lean Republican. And NY-2, 3, 18, 19 and 22 are all tossups. 4 and 17 could be won by a Republican in a wave year.
That's like *12 of 26* districts in play for the GOP.https://t.co/aW2C5fwyYY pic.twitter.com/LIcCZrGNaI— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) May 16, 2022
A court-ordered map in New York has been adopted, and it’s lights out for Democrats heading into November. While the original Democrat map, which was struck down by the state’s Supreme Court, had a likely outcome of 22 D-seats to 4-R seats, the new map puts as many as 12 seats in play for the GOP.
…
Republicans were looking at a modest 1-3 seat gain via redistricting after Ron DeSantis worked his magic in Florida (there’s a single district there under dispute, but nothing that can change the game). Now, you could be talking about a 5-8 seat gain just by virtue of the lines that have been drawn across the nation. Democrats who were celebrating a month ago at some earlier court victories have had their hopes of stemming the tide crushed.
One of the things the New York map fixed was an illegal gerrymander in New York City that diluted the voting power of Orthodox Jews, a demographic that leans heavily Republican. That’s left Rep. Jerry Nadler, who would retire if he had any sense given his age and health concerns, in the same district as another Democrat. Elsewhere, Republicans are set up to make headway in what should be a wave year for them.
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Needless to say, New York Rep. and House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries is not taking this development well at all:
The draft redistricting map viciously targets historic Black representation in NY, and places 4 Black members of Congress into the same district.
This tactic would make Jim Crow blush.
The draft map is unacceptable, unconscionable & unconstitutional.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) May 16, 2022
“Viciously targets.” “Would make Jim Crow blush.” Sure, Hakeem.
This is the Left's answer to pretty much everything these days. https://t.co/mEAQ5nfrNG
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) May 17, 2022
And it got old a long time ago. Nevertheless, they persist, and Hakeem Jeffries is nothing if not persistent:
The NYS Constitution requires that the core of existing congressional districts be maintained.
So why was the historic Black community of Bedford Stuyvesant broken into pieces in the proposed map?
It’s wrong and unconstitutional.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) May 17, 2022
Jeffries is also maybe kinda … well, racist. He sure does love to use racially charged language. He used plenty of it in the statement he issued yesterday.
“The draft map released by a Judicial Overseer in Steuben County and unelected, out-of-town Special Master, both of whom happen to be white men, is part of a vicious national pattern targeting districts represented by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The Court blatantly ignores the comprehensive testimony of Brooklyn residents, civic leaders and stakeholders who made clear that the communities of interest that presently constitute the 8th and 9th congressional districts should be kept together, as was the case in maps submitted by good government groups like Common Cause, civil rights groups like the Unity Coalition and even the Independent Redistricting Commission.
This draft map dilutes the Black population in the 8th and 9th congressional districts in a manner wildly inconsistent with the constitutional mandate that communities of color should be put into position to elect the candidate of their choice. The Court, shockingly, uses a sledgehammer to break into pieces the majority Black and historic neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant, once represented by the legendary Shirley Chisholm. The legacy Chisholm district was created in 1968 pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood at its core. Apparently, the Steuben County Court either doesn’t know this history or doesn’t care, notwithstanding voluminous public testimony.
The “Judicial Overseer” and “Special Master” language is a nice touch, to be sure. But we’re particularly struck by Jeffries rhetoric when it comes to white people trying to infect communities of color with their influence.
We can’t help but feel like we’ve heard that kind of language somewhere before …
Replacement theory? pic.twitter.com/SzGZ0Fy6cM
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) May 17, 2022
Ah, of course!
Almost as if it’s not actually Elise Stefanik who’s pushing “replacement theory” after all.
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