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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Friday, June 28, 2019 3A
Justices: Partisan
gerrymandering
nobody’s business
Associated Press
Biden takes some hits
over race, age in debate
BYRNN ANDERSON I Associated Press
Democratic presidential candidates from left, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper,
entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice-President Joe
Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, l-Vt., Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Sen. Kristen Gillibrand,
D-N.Y., former Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., wave as they
enter the stage for the second night of the Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News
at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Thursday, June 27, in Miami.
WASHINGTON - The
Supreme Court ruled
Thursday that partisan ger
rymandering of congressio
nal and legislative districts
is none of its business, a
decision that leaves state
officials free from federal
court challenges to their
plans to shape districts to
blatantly help their parties.
The court’s conservative
majority, including the two
justices appointed by Pres
ident Donald Trump, pre
vailed in a 5-4 ruling that
dealt a huge blow to efforts
to combat the redrawing
of district lines to benefit a
particular party.
The decision, on the last
day before the justices’ long
summer break, has no effect
on racial gerrymandering
challenges. Courts have
barred redistricting aimed
at reducing the political rep
resentation of racial minori
ties for a half-century.
But the outcome brings
an immediate halt to law
suits that sought to rein in
the most partisan district
ing plans that can result
when one party controls a
state’s legislature and gov
ernor’s office.
In the short term, Repub
licans are the prime benefi
ciaries of the ruling. They
made dramatic political
gains in the 2010 election
just before the last round of
redistricting, so they have
controlled the process in
many states. Democratic
voters had persuaded
lower courts to strike down
districting plans in Michi
gan, North Carolina, Ohio
and Wisconsin. The one
Republican suit came in
Maryland, against a single
congressional district.
Redistricting will next
take place in 2021, once
2020 census results are
available.
In another politically
charged case decided
Thursday, the court blocked
for now the Trump adminis
tration’s effort to add a citi
zenship question to the next
census. It’s unclear whether
the Trump administration
has time to address the
court’s concerns. Printing
of census forms is supposed
to begin next week.
Chief Justice John Rob
erts wrote the majority
opinion in both cases, sid
ing with the liberals on
the census and the conser
vatives on redistricting.
Although the chief justice
often seeks broader coali
tions for relatively narrow
decisions, he ended up
writing a sweeping redis
tricting opinion that drew
an impassioned dissent
from the liberal justices.
Voters and elected offi
cials should be the arbi
ters of what is a political
dispute, Roberts said in his
opinion for the court. Fed
eral courts are the wrong
place to settle these dis
putes, he said.
“We have never struck
down a partisan gerry
mander as unconstitu
tional—despite various
requests over the past 45
years. The expansion of
judicial authority would
not be into just any area of
controversy, but into one of
the most intensely partisan
aspects of American politi
cal life,” Roberts wrote.
The court rejected chal
lenges to Republican-drawn
congressional districts in
North Carolina and a Dem
ocratic district in Maryland.
“Our conclusion does
not condone excessive par
tisan gerrymandering,”
Roberts wrote, acknowl
edging that the North Car
olina and Maryland maps
are “highly partisan.”
In a dissent for the four
liberals, Justice Elena
Kagan wrote, “For the
first time ever, this court
refuses to remedy a consti
tutional violation because
it thinks the task beyond
judicial capabilities.”
Kagan, in mournful tones,
read a summary of her dis
sent in court to emphasize
her disagreement.
BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI
AND JUANA SUMMERS
Associated Press
MIAMI — The roster for
Thursday night’s Demo
cratic presidential debate
demonstrated some of the
party’s major divisions.
Bad moment for Biden
Former Vice President
Joe Biden entered Thurs
day’s debate with the most
to lose. In one powerful
moment, it did not go well.
Kamala Harris, a former
prosecutor, invoked race and
identity, challenging Biden to
apologize for working with
segregationist senators and
opposing aspects of school
busing in the 1970s.
Biden did not apologize,
and Harris made it personal,
saying she benefited from
busing as a girl in California.
Throughout the debate,
Biden had a mostly sub
dued presence and did little
to draw bright distinctions
between his policies and
those of top-tier challengers.
His high points were his
invocations of his alliance
with President Obama and
his record on getting tough
legislation on guns passed.
Dumping on Trump
During Wednesday’s
debate, candidates gener
ally shied away from talk
ing about President Donald
Trump. On Thursday they
came out swinging.
Biden answered a pointed
question about speaking
at a high-dollar fundraiser
by saying, “Donald Trump
thinks Wall Street built
America.” Harris slammed
the president’s tax cut.
But no one struck harder
than Sanders, who called
Trump a fraud and a “patho
logical liar.”
The next generation?
Generational appeals have
been an animating force in
presidential politics as vot
ers often embrace a call for
change — think Bill Clinton
in 1992 and Barack Obama
in 2008.
Pete Buttigieg, the
37-year-old mayor of South
Bend, Indiana, tried to make
the case that he should be
next. The contrast between
him and two of the leading
contenders, Biden and Sand
ers, both in their late 70s, is
dramatic.
California Rep. Eric Swal
well, 38, recalled how Biden
said decades ago it was time
to pass the torch to a new
generation. Swalwell said
Biden should now hand it off.
“I’m still holding onto that
torch,” Biden said.
Sanders tried to make
the case that ideas mat
ter more than age, and his
ideas would benefit younger
Americans.
But Buttigieg isn’t short on
ideas of his own. He has tried
to make the case for a health
care plan that stops well
short of Sanders’ “Medicare
for All.” He has argued for a
reversal of President Don
ald Trump’s immigration
policy. And while calling for
student debt restructuring,
he has also pushed the party
to focus on young adults who
have not gone to college.
Leaping the gender gap
For the second time in his
tory, more than one woman
appeared on a presidential
debate stage — and they did
not hesitate to venture into
the raucous crosstalk.
Rather than waiting for
their turn, Harris and Sen.
Kirsten Gillibrand of New
York repeatedly made
their voices heard, even
when they were not asked to
respond by a moderator.
Discussing immigration,
Harris said, “I will ensure
this microphone that the
president of the United
States holds in her hand is
used in a way that is about
reflecting the values of our
country and not about lock
ing children up, separating
them from their parents. ”
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