{"id":35302,"date":"2017-09-30T13:01:51","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T17:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=35302"},"modified":"2017-09-30T13:36:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-30T17:36:00","slug":"scotus-and-political-gerrymandering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=35302","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS and political gerrymandering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Can the Supreme Court Fix American Politics? – The New York Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I know, I know, I’ve been sort of obsessed with this Wisconsin case for quite a while. Excited, scared, thinking, hoping that Kennedy stayed on the court for at least another year to adjudicate this one case.<\/p>\n

The Times describes it well in today’s editorial. Gill v. Whitford.<\/em><\/a> Wisconsin. Oral argument on Tuesday, October 3.<\/p>\n

I’m pinning my fervent wish for rational democracy on it and on Anthony Kennedy.<\/p>\n

\u2665<\/p>\n

Not Really A P.S. A few weeks ago, I picked up a chilling Letter to the Editor of the New York Times Book Review, referring to the Times review of Nancy MacLean’s new book Democracy in Chains. <\/em>Which is about James McGill Buchanan, the theorist for the Koch Bros Final Solution to Democracy.<\/a><\/p>\n

I think it’s worth repeating here, because the Final Solution is, in essence, blocking, discouraging, preventing voting by anyone who is not an oligarch, i.e., us. Wisconsin’s gerrymander is a Koch Bros success.<\/p>\n

Yes, that is the ultimate goal of “libertarians”: to make it difficult, if not impossible, for each of us who is not an oligarch to cast meaningful votes for our chosen government officials.<\/p>\n

I’ve a lot more to say about this, but for now, read this letter to the editor of the New York Times Book Review section. It refers directly to James McGill Buchanan, the founding father of the anti-democratic and fairly cockamamie theory underpinning the Koch Bros and their $$$trillion campaign to destroy American democracy, as narrated in Professor MacLean’s Democracy in Chains.<\/em><\/p>\n

9\/1\/2017. Letter to the editor of the New York Times Book Review, re James McGill Buchanan, the centerpiece of Democracy in Chains:<\/em><\/p>\n

At a seminar on law and economics at Stanford in the late ’60s, I summarized for James McGill Buchanan (whose biography was reviewed on Aug. 20<\/a>) some judicial opinions that emphasized the protection of unsophisticated consumers against merchants who took advantage of them. His response encapsulated his characteristic blend of economics and politics: “You mean you’ll allow these people to vote<\/strong>?” — <\/em>Marshall S. Shapo, Evanston, Ill.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2660<\/p>\n

This really is a P.S.<\/p>\n

How fully owned by anti-democratic oligarchs is<\/em> Wisconsin, anyway? The Brennan Center just posted this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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COURTS AND CORPORATIONS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wisconsin Law Giving Foxconn Bespoke Justice System Faces Scrutiny<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last week, Governor Scott Walker (R–WI) signed a bill that will extend<\/a> up to $3 billion in tax breaks for Foxconn, the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, to build a plant in Wisconsin. The law also creates a special appeals process if Foxconn ends up in state court. Molly Beck of Wisconsin State Journal notes<\/a> that under the law, if a lower trial court rules against Foxconn, the court\u2019s decision will automatically be stayed if it is appealed. Another provision allows Foxconn to bypass state appeals courts, giving the conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court the opportunity to decide cases related to Foxconn without consideration by the intermediate appeals court.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Wisconsin Legislative Council suggested<\/a> that a court could plausibly find that the law violates constitutional separation of powers provisions. However, Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for the Department of Justice, said<\/a> the \u201cDOJ is confident that the portion of the Foxconn bill related to the courts will pass constitutional muster.\u201d Alicia Bannon and Douglas Keith of the Brennan Center wrote<\/a> that this \u201cbespoke justice system\u201d is part of a national trend in which \u201cstates around the country are tinkering with courts\u2019 structure and processes for political advantage or to support favored interests.\u201d<\/em>
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Source: Can the Supreme Court Fix American Politics? – The New York Times I know, I know, I’ve been sort of obsessed with this Wisconsin case for quite a while. Excited, scared, thinking, hoping that Kennedy stayed on the court … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,337,1095,1175,1265],"tags":[1666,1557,1219,1665,2157,1191,2152,1799,832,2154,1664,2156,738,2153,675,2155,2035],"class_list":["post-35302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-koch-bros-final-solution-to-democracy","category-legal-news","category-politics","category-the-facts-of-life","category-voting-rights","tag-libertarians","tag-anthony-kennedy","tag-brennan-center-for-justice","tag-democracy-in-chains","tag-foxconn","tag-gerrymandering","tag-gill-v-whitford","tag-james-mcgill-buchanan","tag-koch-bros-final-solution-to-democracy","tag-marhsall-s-shapo","tag-nancy-maclean","tag-scott-walker","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court-oral-arguments","tag-voting-rights","tag-wisconsin-courts","tag-wisconsin-gerrymandering"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t