Sweet Home Alabama...

The Republican dominated legislature used the 2020 census to create a blatantly White Supremacist Congressional map for the Federal House of Representatives, and then dared the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional. Twice!

And to the surprise of many a court watcher, the newly Republican biased Supreme Court said, "Y'all, this a one burning cross too far. No." Twice!

So now the Rethuglicans in the Alabama legislature no longer hold any cards in this gambit to keep power in a most conniving and undemocratic manner. It is up to the judge who found their shenanigans unconstitutional in the first...and second, places to restore a modicum of justice for all the people of Alabama. And here are his choices as drawn up by a pair of special masters. Which one would you choose?

For my money, not knowing crap about the on the ground details, I am inclined to choose bachelor number two. It seems to break up the fewest county-level political entities and so feels the most compact.

Of the new map, no consideration appears to have been given to the existing residences of the current congressional delegation. But most appear to be safe.

• Dale Strong lives in Huntsville, still the heart of the 5th district
• Robert Aderholt lives in Haleyville on the border between Marion and Winston counties, both still in the 4th district
• Mike D. Rogers lives in Weaver in central Calhoun county, now even deeper into the 3rd district with the pick-up of Etowah County from the old 4th.
• Terri Sewell, who calls Selma home either is or isn't safe depending upon where in Hoover here college Gary Palmer lives.  But even if there is race between the two, it's seems like a very good bet that Sewell keeps her seat.
• Gary Palmer's fate would seem to depend on whether he lives in Jefferson County or Shelby County as Hoover looks a little like a Roshach ink blot created by folding the two together on their shared county lines.  In the old congressional map, the southern most areas of Jefferson county were carved into the 6th district, which leads one to wonder, since I've seen proposed maps with the hometowns of the representatives highlighted in black which makes me think that this sort of thing was taken into consideration.
• Jerry L. Carl who lives in Mobile remains within the bounds of the 1st district; however,...
• Barry Moore who lives in Enterprise is now resident in the eastern realms of the new 1st district.  Unless Moore moves to Montgomery, or Troy or Eufaula, and presuming that he wants to maintain is place in the seat of power, there will be a run-off in his future.

And so the new 2nd district is presently Representative free.  It is also the second African American majority district which fulfills the requirements of the Federal Court decree.  

Looking ahead, the self-same court cases of violating the bare bones remains of the Congressional Voting Rights Act are working their way through the courts in Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina.  North Carolina's Republic Legislature is poised to go in the same direction, but this ruling will surely give them pause.  I don't think it will stop them, but perhaps it will mitigate their darkest angels' schemes.  Similar cases are brewing in Texas, and in New York their 2020 congressional map which ended up favoring Republicans has been ordered redrawn for violating comparable aspects of the New York State Constitution.

We live in interesting times.