(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A Bill-Clinton-appointed federal judge in New York mocked leftist lawyer Marc Elias for his “Hail Mary” attempt to redraw district lines in the state after a series of GOP court victories foiled Democrats’ gerrymandering scheme, Politico reported.
“In the 102 years since my father, then a Ukrainian refugee, came into this country, if there were two things that he drilled into my head, they were … free, open, rational elections [and] respect for the courts,” said Democrat Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York.
“The relief that I’m being asked to give today impinges, to some degree, on the public perception of both,” he added. “And I’m not going to do that.”
According to Kaplan, he denied the Democrats’ request for an injunction because granting such a request would imply that there was some hope for them winning the case in the future.
“This is a Hail Mary pass, the object of which is to take a long shot try at having the New York primaries conducted on district lines that the state says are unconstitutional,” he said.
As a result of the ongoing litigation, the timing of the upcoming New York elections appears to be up in the air.
Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she was unsure why there was any need for continued litigation.
“I don’t know why we would continue to disrupt the process. It’s still a little fluid … but the path right now is to continue with June 28 for statewide primaries,” she said.
As Elias’s radical endeavors continue to fail, some have speculated that the once powerful force in leftist politics may now be waninig in his influence, the Free Beacon observed.
“Elias has virtually limitless funding and will challenge any voting law anywhere if he thinks doing so will help his party,” said Jason Snead of nonpartisan election integrity watchdog the Honest Elections Project.
“His strategy often backfires since many of the cases are weak or frivolous,” Snead added. “Some of Elias’s allies on the left criticize his strategy and judgment.”
