Here in Pennsylvania we take our gerrymandering very seriously.
So seriously in fact that when the state Supreme Court recently replaced the rigged Republican map with one that both parties say favors the Democrats the GOP went bananas.
One state legislator introduced articles of impeachment for the five Democratic judges on the court. (The vote was 5-2 along party lines)
Then along came U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a man in search of a spine, who called for a “conversation” about impeaching the justices over the map.
The Hill reported that Toomey, while stopping short of calling it an impeachable offense, said that it was “inevitable” that state lawmakers would consider impeachment over this issue. He called the map a “blatant unconstitutional partisan power grab.”
Sounds like Pat’s been saving up some adjectives to use for a special occasion.
By the way, when did impeachment become the default position here? Why would any party that respects the rule of law be talking about such an extreme action? Well, that’s easy to explain, the Republicans have no respect for the rule of law in the age of President Donald Trump.
What’s the story with these maps?
As the Washington Post reported: “The original Republican-drawn map had become the butt of national jokes due to its reliance on strange, sprawling shapes to create a balance of electoral power heavily tilted toward the GOP.
“While Democratic candidates for the state's 18 U.S. House seats tend to capture about half of the statewide popular vote, that's translated into just five of the 18 seats in each election held since the 2011 redistricting.”
The League of Woman Voters filed a lawsuit seeking a fairer map. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in January ordered the map to be redrawn. The state’s Republican-controlled legislature and Democratic Governor Tom Wolf couldn’t agree on a new map, so the court itself took on the process of redistricting.
Republican state lawmakers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the map from taking effect, and they’ve filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the state court violated its constitutional authority by getting rid of the old map and drawing a new one.
All this is an extension of what we see in Washington with its daily assault on the rule of law and the checks and balances established by our Constitution by a dictatorial-minded president and a Republican-controlled Congress prostrating itself in his wake.
This kind of stuff isn’t limited to Washington. Think about it: My state has a governor, a Senate, a House of Representatives and a court system. The state’s highest court has ruled against the party that controls the Senate and House. The reaction is for the GOP to consider throwing out a majority of our justices who wouldn’t give them what they wanted, in hopes of finding a more accommodating combination.
If that’s the way they’re going to play the game then why have a constitution in the first place? Put aside the phony indignation and admit we want to play dirty just like the big boys in Washington.
You would hope Toomey, who sits at the highest level of government, would be the sane voice of integrity here. But, of course, he’s not.
Let’s cut him a break. He’s pretty busy keeping track of campaign contributions so he knows just who owns him at any particular time. Then again, do you think it’s easy to oppress the poor to benefit yourself and your rich donors? That takes a lot of planning.
Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, elected officials like the justices can be impeached by a majority vote of the house and a two-thirds supermajority of the Senate. The Republicans have those numbers at this time.
Which makes the upcoming election beyond big if we want to block such a power play by a party that takes its integrity cues from Trump, the most corrupt and incompetent president in our history.
This is something to keep an eye on. One Republican Pennsylvania Senator called the situation a “constitutional crisis.”
No, a constitutional crisis is when one branch of government tries to railroad out members of another allegedly separate but equal branch who won’t play ball. But, I guess when you’ve achieved your success by cheating the whole world can look unfair when somebody calls you on it.
Sometimes the cesspool flows uphill -- many of the cowards and con men we see in federal government started out as cowards and con men in our local and state governments.
We’re going to need a really big Blue Wave to clean up this mess.
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