Ever Wonder Why Republicans Are So Worried About the Courts?
By: Marley K.
Tags: Race, Equality, Republican Party, Government, Politics

Republicans at President George H.W. Bush’s funeral. Source: Picyrl

“A [2020] citizenship question would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.” ~ Thomas Hoffeller- Legendary Republican Strategist

Inequality is the Pillar of Republican Conservatism

Republicans are vested in inequality, which is why they are so concerned with stacking their unqualified, younger federal court picks for lifetime judgeships. The Trump Administration and his Senate cronies have appointed 150 men and women to the courts with another year to go. Under the tutelage of Senator Mitch McConnell and the Federalist Society, federal appointees have been younger, Whiter, and more male than President Obama’s diverse selection of court appointments during his tenure in office.

Most of Trump’s judges are also anti-civil rights which means they are anti-Black, anti-equality, anti-minorities, and anti-rights for anyone except Whites. Republican judges are more likely to approve gerrymandered districts. Gerrymandering, is the manipulation of an electoral constituency’s boundaries to favor one party or class, and has been used in the United States since 1788 to increase the power of one of the two political parties.

Gerrymandered districts means skewed Census data. Every 10 years since 1790, the country takes a national headcount (Census). Skewed census data means more economic development, business decisions, and community strategic planning favoring Whites. Federal, state, and local governments use Census data to determine budgets for social welfare programs. Cities and private industries use the Census’ demographic data to plan hospital expansions and housing developments and to assess the need for new schools or new strip malls.

When Whites get to redraw local districts in their favor, they ensure their communities get the best schools, better resources, and more economic development opportunities which drives everything in a capitalistic society. This is another driver of inequality. It’s the reason White communities have all the nice shopping districts and restaurants. It’s how Whites determine where they will live, where they buy homes and when they sell them. Gerrymandering is the zero-sum game we can never win.

The sole purpose of gerrymandering is to weaken the power of minority voters and is rooted in White power and White Supremacy. It ensures America is ruled by majority White districts, even when the demographic makeup in a particular district shows otherwise. For whatever reason, White people have a hard time saying what gerrymandering truly is. It’s like cognitive dissonance.

Gerrymandering (partisan gerrymandering, bipartisan gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering), violates two tenets of electoral apportionment, and is so much bigger than any political candidate’s win or loss (see America’s most gerrymandered districts). It’s a big deal because it means Whites are stacking the decks in favor of themselves regardless of whether they are a Republican, yet most Democrats and liberals don’t really understand how they too benefit from Republican cheating. Even if you’re not a White Republican, White GOP political strategists still look out for Whites.

Redistricting and Gerrymandering = White Power.

Republican Cheating + Redistricting + Gerrymandering = Inequality.

The Modern King of Gerrymandering

Republicans have always cheated to win in politics at the expense of Black and Brown voters. Thomas Hoffeller, a Republican strategist known for his gerrymandering mastermind nationally for 50 years, drew maps the Republican party used to make districts easier for them to win mostly at the expense of minorities’ voting rights. Months after urging President Trump’s transition team to tack the question onto the 2020 Census back in 2016, Hoffeller wrote the key portion of a draft Justice Department letter claiming the question was needed to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It was the same excuse the Trump administration later used to justify its decision to the courts and to the public.

In one file released by the late Hoffeller’s daughter, he concluded that a citizenship question would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. White Republicans have been engaging in efforts to maintain inequality for a very long time.

Thomas Hoffeller was a master at drawing the rigged district maps which guaranteed Republican control of local, state, and federal governments. It’s why we minorities It’s the reason they laugh in our faces as we complain about how terrible they are. They know there is little we can do now. Inequality is in America‘s plan at least for the next 40–50 years.

Why The Courts Matter to Republicans

Courts matter to Republicans like Mitch McConnell and others under the Republican umbrella because when they’ve stacked them with people who look like them, think like them, hate like them, are greedy like them, believe in inequality like them, and who will rule in their favor, they win. Even when minority groups protest how state lines are drawn, Republicans can ensure they win. It’s depressing. It’s also upsetting when White Democrats give their opinions on how Blacks and minorities should vote while telling us what will happen if Republicans win as if we don’t already know what will happen. We can’t fight inequality if White people don’t stop Republicans and White Supremacists from hoarding power.

Gerrymandering and court stacking are the inequalities that obstructs minorities from voting for who they want to represent them, and it diverts money from coming into their communities. It’s hard to tell people to be enthused about voting when they get nothing for their vote. Those recent court appointments matter and the fact so many White people can ignore them speaks volumes about how little White people are negatively impacted by Republican redistricting. Even when Whites are negatively impacted, they still vote White.

Achieving Equality Is Hard When White Republicans Cheat

Equality for Blacks and minorities is hard to gain when we have so many racist people working actively to keep us from achieving it. The only way for us to achieve equality in America is through a fair political processes. America doesn’t have that, and we never have. Individuals (Mostly White Republicans) with the privilege of structuring our political processes often cheat to achieve the outcomes they desire, therefore, equality is almost impossible without dismantling White Supremacy.

Republicans have the entire system rigged in their favor, including key federal and state courts, and state legislatures. As long as they have political systems gerrymandered and our courts on their side, America can never move to a more equitable society.

White America, the ball is in your court. Stop looking for the victims to save themselves. We didn’t relinquish our power; Republicans stole it from us. White Democrats let it happen. It’s not fair. Fix it. You can’t be pro-equality and pro-human but sit back and allow people who look like you to steal from people who look like me. It just doesn’t sell anymore. You have power. Use it.

It’s time for White people to give us our power back. Equality awaits.

©2020 Marley K. All rights reserved.

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