Feel Good Story of the Day

And it comes to us from the New York Times!

Background: The left loves to caterwaul about how Republicans have an advantage in House elections because of gerrymandering, and how this is not merely unfair, but a “threat to democracy.” I observe merely that you never heard this when Democrats enjoyed the fruits of gerrymandering for decades when the New Deal coalition was riding high. This 230 year-old practice only became a scandal and a “threat to democracy” when Republicans got good at it. (Come to think of it, for the left, a “threat to democracy” really just means, “Whenever Republicans win elections.”)

Anyway, Democrats hoped they might draw even in the gerrymandering game for this decade with some aggressive maps of their own in several blue states they control, including a proposed House district map in New York that would have destroyed the Republican House delegation. Only one problem: it was too much even for the liberal New York Supreme Court, which threw it out based on a 2014 state law that prohibits partisan gerrymandering (memo to liberal “good government” reformers: beware what you wish for), and ordered a special master to draw new districts in a hurry, since the primaries are coming soon.

And thus savor the result, as reported in the  yesterday:

A state court formally approved New York’s new congressional map late Friday, ratifying a slate of House districts drawn by a neutral expert that could pave the way for Democratic losses this fall and force some of the party’s most prominent incumbents to face off in primary matches. . .

In Manhattan, the final map would still merge the seats of Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, setting two Democratic committee leaders who have served alongside each other for 30 years onto a collision course with national implications.

Another awkward Democratic primary loomed up the Hudson in Westchester County, where two Black Democratic House members were drawn into a single district. But the worst outcome for Democrats appeared to be averted early Saturday morning when one of the incumbents, Representative Mondaire Jones, said he would not run for re-election in Westchester.

He planned to run instead in a newly reconfigured 10th District in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, a race that will also include Bill de Blasio, the former New York City mayor, and Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou.

Republicans were already eying pickup opportunities in the suburbs of Long Island and the Hudson Valley that could help them retake control of the House. . .

Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat and top party leader, called the maps a “constitutional travesty” on Saturday. . .

The final map was a stark disappointment for Democrats, who control every lever of power in New York and had entered this year’s decennial redistricting cycle with every expectation of gaining seats.

Oh please, please don’t let there be any supply-chain issues for popcorn.

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