The Supreme Court of the United States just unanimously swatted down Virginia Democrats who tried to seize control of the state's redistricting process in a blatant power grab designed to gerrymander themselves into seats they can't win honestly. The ruling, handed down on May 16, upheld the judgment of the Virginia Supreme Court and told Democrats exactly what we've been telling them for years: no, you can't just redraw the lines because you don't like losing.
But here's the best part. They're already fundraising off the loss.
That's right. Virginia Democrats launched a fundraiser the same day the ruling dropped — begging donors to fund their "legal defense" against a ruling that is already final. The Supreme Court already ruled. Unanimously. There is no next round. They're essentially asking supporters to pay for the privilege of losing, which, come to think of it, is the entire Democratic business model.
The case centered on Virginia Democrats' attempt to wrest control of redistricting away from the process that produced maps they didn't like. When you can't win voters, redraw the voters — that's been the playbook. The Virginia Supreme Court saw through it first, and now SCOTUS has confirmed that judgment in no uncertain terms.
As one response to the ruling noted, "Wisely, the Supreme Court of the United States has confirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia." Wisely, indeed. Though "obviously" might have been the better word.
The names behind this failed scheme deserve remembering. Democrats like Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones were connected to the broader push to tilt Virginia's maps in their favor. The goal was never about "fair representation" — the scare quotes are doing a lot of heavy lifting there. The goal was about manufacturing safe blue seats in a state that keeps trending in directions Democrats don't control.
And this wasn't a 5-4 squeaker where liberal justices could claim some moral victory in dissent. This was unanimous. Every single justice — the Trump appointees, the Obama appointees, all of them — looked at what Virginia Democrats were trying to pull and said no. When you can't even get Sonia Sotomayor to throw you a bone, your legal argument isn't just weak. It's embarrassing.
Per Conservative Review, the Democrats had been "hoodwinking themselves" about their chances in this case. That tracks. Self-delusion is a core competency over there. They convinced themselves the Court would let them redraw the map, and when reality showed up, they pivoted straight to the fundraising email. No reflection. No accountability. Just "send money."
This is what we're dealing with, folks. A party that loses at the ballot box, loses in the state courts, loses at the Supreme Court — unanimously — and then has the audacity to send out a fundraising blast asking you to help them keep fighting. Fighting what? The Constitution? Math?
Virginia's maps stand. The redistricting process that Democrats tried to hijack is intact. And somewhere in a campaign office in Richmond, an intern is drafting the next email asking donors to fund a fight that's already over.
Keep sending those checks, Democrats. We love watching you light money on fire.