Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, in the recent case that restricted the use of race in designing a Louisiana congressional district.
Thomas wrote: “This Court should never have interpreted (Section) 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to effectively give racial groups ‘an entitlement to roughly proportional representation.’ … By doing so, the Court led legislatures and courts to ‘systematically divid(e) the country into electoral districts along racial lines.’ … ‘Blacks (we)re drawn into ‘black districts’ and given ‘black representatives’; Hispanics (we)re drawn into Hispanic districts and given ‘Hispanic representatives’; and so on. That interpretation rendered (Section) 2 ‘repugnant to any nation that strives for the ideal of a color-blind Constitution.’ … Today’s decision should largely put an end to this ‘disastrous misadventure’ in voting-rights jurisprudence.”
Critics argue the ruling is not colorblind in effect because race-neutral districting can dilute minority voting power. But this assumes a) non-black and non-Hispanic voters would not vote for black or Hispanic candidates; and b) the interests of black and Hispanic voters can only be pursued by black and Hispanic members of Congress.
For Democrats, the effect of this ruling could be politically catastrophic. A report from Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund said: “Combined with Republicans’ mid-decade gerrymandering, a ruling gutting Section 2 could help secure an additional 27 safe Republican U.S. House seats when compared to the 2024 House maps — at least 19 directly tied to the loss of Section 2.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Instead of protecting the ability for American citizens to freely cast their ballot, Republican extremists have embraced voter suppression and racial gerrymandering to desperately cling to power. The corrupt conservative majority on the Supreme Court appointed by Donald Trump has taken a blowtorch to the Voting Rights Act. Why? The extremists need to cheat to win.”
It is not clear how removing race as a criterion in constructing congressional districts amounts to “cheating.” Nor is it clear how this majority of justices, nominated by Republican presidents, renders the court “corrupt.”
As for “Republican extremists embracing voter suppression,” Jeffries presumably means voter ID laws. But polls show a large majority of blacks support voter ID by percentages close to those of whites. Georgia, in 2021, enacted voter ID and voter-integrity laws called by President Joe Biden “worse than Jim Crow — it’s Jim Eagle.” But the percentage of blacks who voted exceeded the black voting percentages of most pre-2021 Georgia elections.
Let’s turn to Jeffries’ accusation about Republicans’ supposed use of “racial gerrymandering.” In 2017, Politico wrote: “Former (Obama) Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday officially launched the National Democratic Redistricting Committee … as the center of Democratic rebuilding in the era of President-elect Donald Trump and as Democrats’ main hope to roll back Republican gains in state legislatures and prepare for redistricting in 2021. The end goal: House majorities in Congresses elected after 2020.”
To that end, Eric Holder supported race-conscious redistricting efforts designed to increase black electoral influence. About a district in Alabama in 2024, for example, the Associated Press wrote: “The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Holder chairs, supported the legal battle that led to the district being redrawn into a competitive seat where Black voters have the opportunity to influence the outcome.”
Finally, about voters voting based on race, there are four black Republican members of the U.S. House, none of whom represents a majority-black district. Even Democrat Maxine Waters, a harsh critic of the court ruling and a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, represents a district that is only about 20% black. Rep. Steve Cohen, who is white, succeeded Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who is black, in representing a majority-black district. And a recent Gallup poll finds Trump approval rating among blacks at 16%, up from 12% in his first term.
Contrary to what many Democratic politicians say and how they act, this is not their grandfather’s America. But many Democrat politicians do not want a colorblind society. They want a color-coordinated one — as long as they oversee the coordination.
My advice to Democrats after this ruling is simple: calm down. The days of poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses are long over. As Thomas Sowell says, “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit here. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage.
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The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
The Left is not just “race obsessed”; they are, in fact, the worst racists around.
The liberal leftist socialists whine about anything good or bad.One thing that I have noticed is that you can come pretty close to identify the”people of marxist cult”by looking at them.The Seattle mayor,the NYC mayor,the Illinois governor,the chitcago mayor and many more.There is just something that is a little unsettling about their appearance.
Thomas Sowell is a real American treasure. So are you, Larry.
Color blindness would be suicidal , mortal danger to those who make a living of color of the skin, whose bread and butter it has been for years and years, they need it in order to survive, MLK advocated and what it got him? Al the agencies and departments put in existence to cope with the discrimination and injustices,,the damage that it cost to black community, the dependency and helplessness it created and inability to think for one self, not to mention the fodder for the penitentiary system, because encouraging the lawlessness does not improve things. All that is a crime against the fellow citizen of color, who will be held responsible for that atrocity , this is worse than anything the slaver ever done. If ever there is to be any reconciliation , peaceful normal coexistence , it would have to start with the truth and acknowledgement of great error that resulted in a great harm.
I think the leftist loony liberals are realizing that their behavior has shown just how corrupt they are and they are afraid now that they will start loosing elections because of their anti American standards. They are only interested in money and power and to hell with the citizens of this country. I can only pray that they never again win power over this country or America, as we know it, will cease to exist.
Spot on, Mr. Elder. The blue states are trying to create chaos in this country. That is how the Communists begin taking control of the country they want to claim. Make it so chaotic that the citizens will elect whoever they see as “saving” them. I am thanking the Lord that at least the voting laws such as “redistricting” and cleaning up the voter roles is happening. It is well known in this country that the Democrats/Communists have long been the racists. They fought for slaves in early America and they fought against Civil Rights in the middle of the last century. It has always been a mystery to me why the black people always vote for these Communists. They should have learned decades ago that the Democrat/Communists NEVER kept their promises to make their lives better. In fact much of their legislation is what has lead to the downfall of black families, crime and under educated children.
why would non-race based elections be maligned in the UNITED STATES of AMERICA?
i thought racism in AMERICA was destroyed when obama was elected?
Dear AMAC,
Look at the comments in this article, in particular, those from “usa american”. He also posts under the names of max p, fred f, george z, thomas u, glen s and paul s. And then there is the one from Lexi York and JobatHome1.Com. These are the same people posting the same crap and AMAC continues to allow it. Why can’t they do something to prevent it? Like limiting posts to paying members, blocking posts from certain email addresses, require post confirmation via emails, something??? Come on, a high school kid could figure this out. And I have to pick all the frames with bicycles to make a post … SMH. We are sick of this; do something about it!!!
Today’s DIMMs don’t want a colorblind society! In fact, if they were totally honest [a big feat for them], they would denounce Dr. King as a HN or UT.
Racism will never go away here. EVER.
The Dumba$$ocrat$ will not allow that to happen….