In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court upheld the one-man, one-vote principle in the Constitution despite conservatives’ best effort to disenfranchise voters by challenging it.

CNN reports:

In a unanimous result, the court said a state can draw legislative districts based on total population. At issue in the case was the “one person, one vote” principle dating back to the 1960s, when the court held that state legislative districts must be drawn so they are equal in population.

But, until Monday, justices never specified whether that doctrine applied to the general population or to the voting population. All states currently draw lines based on general population, but two conservative plaintiffs from Texas argued their vote was being diluted in relation to other districts that had the same number of people but fewer voters.

The Obama administration and state of Texas opposed the lawsuit. Civil rights groups watched the case carefully, fearful that if the court were to rule with the plaintiffs, it could potentially shift power from urban areas – districts that tend to include a higher percentage of individuals not eligible to vote such as non-citizens, released felons and children – to rural areas that are more likely to favor Republicans.

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“Washington is like Rod Stewart’s haircut — party in the front, party in the back, frankly too much party and no business anywhere.”

And it’s utterly clear that Congress has no ability to police themselves to…let’s face it…make their jobs better.

It reminds me of a moment in Obama’s State of the Union Speech last January, a moment when you could hear a pin drop, because the President was talking specifically to members of Congress about improving their own jobs. I imagine Congress likes the State of the Union for the reason that they can sit in the actual Congressional Chamber for over an hour without having to dial for dollars.

[I]f our existing approach to campaign finance reform can’t pass muster in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution – because it’s a problem. And most of you don’t like raising money. I know; I’ve done it. (Applause.)

But Marco Rubio held a fundraiser before the State of the Union. And both parties used that speech to send out fundraising emails; the Democrats used Obama’s signature in a fundraising email before the President had a chance to drive back to the White House.

It makes me wonder, is Bernie Sanders is an Independent in part to avoid the Democratic call center shellfish stink?

Did Charlie Rose or anyone at CBS This Morning do any fact-checking about Megyn Kelly before holding her up as “independent” and allowing her to claim that Fox News is “fair and balanced?”

In another admiring interview of Kelly in the “liberal media,” Rose announced, “Her two million-plus viewers tunes in to see a self-described ‘independent’ with a reputation for asking tough questions to anyone, Democrat and Republican alike.”

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Two Republican senators who seemed to be dissenting on Supreme Court obstructionism have been sent to a reeducation camp:

The wall of Republican opposition to the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court has been shored up by two Republican senators revoking their support for holding confirmation hearings….

As the White House heralds the growing number of Republicans agreeing to meet with Judge Garland, Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have reversed themselves and say they now back the decision made by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, not to hold hearings….

Their announcements leave just two Republicans who openly support holding hearings and even voting on Judge Garland’s nomination: Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mark S. Kirk of Illinois….

Republicans who have broken from party leaders have suffered blowback from conservative groups. Mr. Moran weathered particularly brutal attacks, with some threatening to back a last-minute primary challenger against him in his re-election bid.

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P M Carpenter: Stay away from Cleveland – let the wingnuts own the mess.

Yellowdog Granny: It’s a Trump round-up.

Margin of Error: Freedom of expression must exist in practice, not just in theory.

Hackwhackers: Democrats need to stick together.

And just for fun – sing along with Ted and Amanda!

Blog round-up by Infidel753. Tips to mbru [at] crooksandliars [dot] com.

(**I used to write recaps of The Walking Dead, but because of the political season, I didn’t have the time. I still watched, though.)

I was not that crazy about most of season 6 of TWD, which started in October, 2015 and just concluded Sunday night. There were many decisions that Rick and members of the group made that made absolutely no sense at all.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I won’t recap the entire season - just a few incidents though.

It became boring constantly watching Morgan refuse to kill people that wanted to kill everyone in Alexandria. I think everybody knew that in the end he would be forced to kill to save my favorite character, Carol. And so it did.

Why would Rick and the group decide it was a great idea to raid Negan’s compound and massacre every person there while they slept before they knew really anything about Negan and his Saviors? I know they needed supplies, but it still illogical.

Even if Rick was high on thinking he was a GOD, why did everybody immediately agree to do this heinous act? They turned into something close to the Governor - and they deserved the outcome that took place in the finale. As a matter of fact, they got off easy.

Hello, Lucille.

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I thought this was hilarious: A protester at a Trump rally! http://pic.twitter.com/o2J0nYS4xE

— R.Saddler (@Politics_PR) April 3, 2016

Open Thread below…

It was on this day, April 3rd, in 1971 that the Temptations scored their 3rd #1 hit on the US pop charts with “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me.)”

What are you listening to tonight?

The landlord at a Mississippi RV park admitted over the weekend that he evicted a couple because they were interracial.

Gene Baker told The Clarion-Ledger that he asked Erica Flores Dunahoo and her African-American husband, Stanley Hoskins, to leave his RV park in Tupelo because “the neighbors were giving me such a problem.”

Dunahoo, who is Native American and Hispanic, explained to the paper that she and her husband moved into the RV Park in February to save money and get their life “back on track.”

“He was real nice,” she said of Baker. “He invited me to church and gave me a hug. I bragged on him to my family.”

Dunahoo said that she paid $275 in rent on Feb. 28, but Baker called the next day with bad news.

“Hey, you didn’t tell me you was married to no black man,“ Dunahoo recalled Baker saying. “Oh, it’s a big problem with the members of my church, my community and my mother-in-law… They don’t allow that black and white shacking.”

Although Dunahoo pointed out that she was not "shacking” with her husband because they are married, Baker reportedly insisted that it is “the same thing.”

“You don’t talk like you wouldn’t be with no black man,“ Baker allegedly said. "If you would had come across like you were with a black man, we wouldn’t have this problem right now.”

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It seems the GOP frontrunner is none too happy with Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s decision to stay in the presidential race even though he has zero chance of winning enough delegates to secure the nomination ahead of the convention: Trump Calls on Kasich to Quit Race: ‘He’s Taking My Votes’

Donald Trump on Sunday called for John Kasich to drop out of the Republican presidential race, arguing that the Ohio governor shouldn’t be allowed to continue accumulating delegates if he has no chance of being the party’s nominee.

Working to recover his edge after a difficult week, Trump said it wasn’t fair for Kasich, the winner of only his home state so far, to continue his campaign. He suggested instead that Kasich, who has pledged to make it to the summer convention, follow the example of Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush — candidates who quit after lagging behind.

“Honestly, Kasich should not be allowed to run,” Trump told reporters at Miss Katie’s Diner in Milwaukee, where he stopped for breakfast. The state holds its presidential primaries Tuesday.

Trump said he had relayed his concerns to Republican National Committee officials at a meeting in Washington this past week. He added that Kasich could ask to be considered at the GOP convention in Cleveland in July even without competing in the remaining nominating contests.

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