http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/17/1412973/-Virginia-Democrats-punk-Republicans-saying-no-to-gerrymandered-maps-and-conservative-judges?detail=email
That was definitely one short special session. Virginia lawmakers had been called back to the state capitol on Monday to hammer out a new congressional map, seeing as the current lines were ruled an unconstitutional racial gerrymander by a federal court earlier this year.
But with the state House and Senate in Republican hands and forever at loggerheads with Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, odds were always high that the two sides would never reach an agreement and would instead send the whole matter back to court to have the judges serve as cartographers.
Now that's a near certainty, though for reasons unrelated to redistricting. At the start of the new session, Republican lawmakers attempted to oust state Supreme Court Justice Jane Roush, whom McAuliffe appointed on an interim basis last month, with a judge more to their liking, Ronnie Alston. However, the vote failed, thanks to a defection by retiring GOP state Sen. John Watkins, who was disgusted by his own party's flagrant partisan posturing.
But had the legislature remained in session to work on redistricting, Republicans could have kept trying to install Alston in place of Roush. Since Democrats were pissed at Republicans for trying to bump off Roush in the first place, and since they knew there was no longer any hope of any kind of deal on a new map, they banded together with Watkins a second time to adjourn the special session—all on the very day it began.
It's a pretty fascinating exercise in power, with one chamber basically saying "fuck you" to the other. Republicans say they think the Senate might not be able to adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the House, so we could be back here right quick.
But if Watkins continues to defect, the GOP will lack a quorum and won't be able to conduct any business; in that scenario, McAuliffe would be able to re-appoint Roush to a second interim term when her current one expires in September. And Republicans, who could have traded a favorable congressional map for a Democratic priority like, say, Medicaid expansion, will instead walk away with nothing—and at least several more months of Jane Roush on the high court.
backbone healing in progress my party needs major surgery they need to stop running from Pres. and be who they claim to be not just in name only warming seats that might as well be republican. i wonder if they realize that if they allow republicans to steal our voices by vote they can be out of that coushy job they have not been doing effectively for the last 7 years.
my Progressive friends they are not the only ones in need of surgery we the electorate can use a injection of anti indifference and support who looks out for us not who looks the other way from us. recognize
