“Jim Crow 2.0”—that’s the new Democratic sound bite to describe the gerrymandering fiascos unfolding in Louisiana, Virginia, and other states where Republicans are winning the redistricting wars. Democrats are blaming their losses on judges, with particular ire directed at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
“I don’t know what kind of black he is,” said Alabama state representative Juandalynn Givan, referring to Thomas, who recently joined the Court’s blockbuster opinion striking down racial gerrymandering. “His ancestors had to be the ones that sold us out in Africa. He is the man who has turned us back into the hands of the master.”
Things may be about to get even worse. After the Virginia Supreme Court last week slapped down Democrats’ wildly partisan redistricting gambit in that state—designed to give them 10 out of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats—House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries called the decision “shocking” and said it aligned with the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Jim Crow–like attack” on black voters. Now Virginia Democrats have appealed the state court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the justices deny that appeal, as everyone expects, that will add yet more fuel to the fire.
