Supreme Court to review GOP power grab

Not that we can hold out much hope in Red America, but at least the Supreme Court has agreed to look at this important case. You may recall how Tom DeLay strongarmed a redistricting of Texas to give more Republicans seats in Congress and all but guarantee GOP control of America. He even called Homeland security to scramble aircraft in order to chase down Democratic law makers who fought this blatant power grab. Today the Supreme Court has announced that they will look into the case to determine it's legality. While Republican appointees on the Court tend to be partisans, they is still hope (always hope) that justice will prevail.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider the constitutionality of a Texas congressional map engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay that helped Republicans gain seats in Congress. The 2003 boundaries helped Republicans win 21 of the state's 32 seats in Congress in the last election-- up from 15. They were approved amid a nasty battle between Republican leaders and Democrats and minority groups in Texas.
The contentiousness also reached Washington, where the Justice Department approved the plan although staff lawyers concluded that it diluted minority voting rights. Because of past discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes to ensure they don't undercut minority voting. Justices will consider a constitutional challenge to the boundaries filed by various opponents. The alleged scheme was part of a plan Tom DeLay and others set in motion to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in 2002 elections. The Republican Legislature then adopted a DeLay-backed congressional voting district map.

DeLay was later rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for using the Federal Aviation Administration to track down a private plane that shuttled some Democratic lawmakers out of the state.