Tumultuous Time On Redistricting In The House Of Representatives, With Revival Of “Jim Crow” White Supremacy In South!

Ronald 24 Comments

The shocking series of events, begun by the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana V. Callais on April 29, has provoked other Southern States to promote similar racial gerrymandering and redistricting, favoring the Republican Party.

Then, the Virginia State Supreme Court has negated the popular referendum for redistricting, favoring the Democratic Party, upending all projections regarding the House of Representatives in the 120th Congress (2027-2029).

This is a tumultuous time that can allow for the possibility that the Republicans will be able to overcome their disadvantages, which normally, in a midterm election, would lead to gains by the Democratic party, out of power in the White House, and with many reasons why they should gain control of the House of Representatives, particularly with only a three seat edge by the Republicans, a very tenuous situation.

The idea that Jim Crow Racism of the post Reconstruction period of the Gilded Age would come back a century and a half later, and the effective repeal of the legendary Voting Rights Act of 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society programs, is extremely depressing and demoralizing.

But, there is no guarantee of what the ultimate effect of the Supreme Court decision will be long term.

But clearly, many of the African American members of Congress from the South are likely to lose their seats, and the Republicans, the party that ended slavery, now will have the reputation of being the White Supremacist party that the Democrats were for nearly 90 years until the 1960s.

24 comments on “Tumultuous Time On Redistricting In The House Of Representatives, With Revival Of “Jim Crow” White Supremacy In South!”

  1. Wayne Johnson May 11, 2026 8:41 am

    Professor Ron…. in my 20’s while serving in the Navy, I saw first had the countries of Chile, and especially Argentina, when their Democracy’s were overthrown by their military junta’s.

    Now I’m my 70’s, I would never have conceived, here on our Nation’s 250th celebration, that we are so close to losing our Democracy to the likes of Trump and his MAGA movement.

    This has also been complicated by the draconian, religious fanaticism of “Christian Nationalism” subset of this current Republican Party. Those who orcastrated and supported those military juntas in South America with all their atrocities, in their minds, “where doing God’s work” too.

    I would add that one of the biggest atrocities to our Democracy was the actions of Mitch McConnell that bastardized our Supreme Court which removed the “Checks and Balances” which was put into place by our Founding Father’s 250 years ago.

    Now today, this Conservative Propaganda fed disaster that is based on nilistic viewpoints, blantant lies, and the corporate funded mass media hate speech that came into it’s own in the early 1990’s, has the closest potential threat to our Nation since our Civil War of 1861 – 1865.

  2. Wayne Johnson May 11, 2026 9:46 am

    The assumption that democracies last no more than roughly 200–250 years is a theory largely popularized by historical cycles, particularly a often cited quote attributed to Scottish history professor Alexander Tytler in the late 18th century. This idea suggests a predictable decay from liberty to apathy, dependency, and eventually, a return to dictatorship.

    Alexander Tytler wrote in 1787 that democracies are temporary because voters eventually realize they can vote themselves “generous gifts from the public treasury.”
    The belief is that democracy collapses when fiscal responsibility gives way to unsustainable public spending, leading to economic ruin and the rise of a dictator promising stability.
    This describes Donald Trump’s family perfectly. During his first and second presidential terms, critics and watchdog groups have identified several instances of what they describe as “grifting” or self-enrichment by the Trump family. These activities often involve leveraging the presidency to benefit personal business ventures and receiving significant payments from foreign interests.

    Similar aspects are mentioned by Sir John Glubb’s work, “The Fate of Empires” (1976), calculated that great nations (including republics) last roughly 250 years, passing through stages of expansion, commerce, and decline. These theories argue that as a society becomes more affluent and complacent, its citizens lose the civic virtue required to maintain democracy, leading to polarization and reliance on the state.

    Some scholars note the structural limitations of a modern Democracy, as noted by Erwin Chemerinsky, argue that modern democracies face crises due to constitutional flaws which can lead to polarization and minority rule, making them unsustainable. This is the perfect disciption of an oligarchy.

    This “Democratic Decay” is also referred to as “democratic backsliding,” erosion, or regression. A widely documented global phenomenon characterized by the slow, incremental weakening of democratic institutions, norms, and rights. Unlike historical coups, modern democratic decay often occurs through legal channels, where elected leaders incrementally undermine checks and balances. This is where I personally see the “causes and effects” of our country today, instead of a military coup.

    Democratic Decay in modern democracies, tend to die slowly when elected leaders break the rules of democracy, reducing the influence of voters and concentrating their own power.

  6. Rustbelt Democrat May 11, 2026 10:03 am

    They’re really not, though, as far as I can tell…

  9. Paul Doyle May 11, 2026 11:45 am

    Congrats, Professor!
    Just catching up with my print edition of NY Times and May 5th article on Political Violence written by Linda Qiu. Last paragraph in story quotes you a couple of times…

  10. Ronald May 11, 2026 3:28 pm

    Paul Doyle, thanks so much for noticing that I was interviewed by the NY Times on May 5th, much appreciated! 🙂

  11. Ronald May 11, 2026 3:30 pm

    Wayne Johnson, thanks for your insightful commentary about the dangers to democracy at the 250 year mark! 🙂

  24. Former Republican May 15, 2026 12:26 pm

    Saw this on Facebook…

    In Trump’s America, you can:
    – gut the Voting Rights Act
    – wipe away majority-Black congressional districts
    – send ICE agents to intimidate voters at the polls
    – maliciously prosecute political opponents
    – do everything you can to steal the midterm elections

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