PFAW: Court OK for DeLay Redistricting ‘Lipstick on a pig’

The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld most of the blatantly partisan redistricting plan bullied through the Texas legislature by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. The one bright spot in the ruling was the Court’s holding that the plan’s cutting of Latino voters from the 23rd congressional district violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

“It’s shameful if not surprising that the Supreme Court has given its approval to a redistricting plan as corrupt and partisan as its author,” said People For the American Way’s Texas Director Deece Eckstein. “Talk about putting lipstick on a pig. At least the Court recognized a blatant move to diminish the voice of Hispanic voters in the 23rd congressional district, thanks to the hard work of MALDEF and the plaintiffs.”

Eckstein predicted that the Court’s approval of the nearly unprecedented mid-decade redistricting will open the door to partisan battling and voter confusion across the country.

“There is an ongoing right-wing campaign to disenfranchise Americans by making it harder to register, harder to vote, and harder to have your vote make a difference,” said Eckstein. “Part of that campaign is the effort by Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation to block reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. This ruling is only going to make things worse.”

Eckstein noted that Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, whose nominations were opposed by many progressive advocates, had voted with the other far-right Justices in the case.

“We said Americans’ rights would not be safe in the hands of Roberts and Alito,” said Eckstein. “And we were right.”