Concerned about black and brown and other inconvenient voters actually voting, the Republicans in Virginia gerrymandered the daylights out of their electoral maps, as did Republican majorities in a great number of state legislatures around the country. They also got caught, as did Republican majorities in a great number of state legislatures around the country. They also got slammed in federal court, as did Republican majorities in a great number of state legislatures around the country.

The court forced the map to be redrawn, which is in the process of happening at the moment. Over this same stretch of time, the Republicans in Virginia nearly lost their legislative majorities. This did not stop them from still trying to excise these inconvenient voters, because ni shagu nazad. Not one step backwards.

And now, they're back at the Supreme Court again. From the Washington Post:

The action does not appear to halt the redistricting process, though, which is underway at the hands of a “special master” appointed by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. House Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), who filed the appeal, said he is considering his next steps, which could include seeking to halt redistricting until the Supreme Court rules on the case. “We will take the next few days to consider that and make an announcement at the appropriate time,” Cox said via email.

Want unlimited access to Charlie? Join the fight against stupid HERE.

At stake is control of Virginia’s House of Delegates. The GOP barely held onto its majority last year in the 100-seat chamber after 15 Democrats flipped seats in elections. One Republican prevailed in a random tiebreaker, leaving the GOP with a 51-49 edge.

The 11 districts are in Hampton Roads and greater Richmond, but redrawing them will affect several surrounding districts, as well, making next year’s elections crucial for determining the balance of power. The federal judges found that the districts were drawn to concentrate black voters and deprive them of representation. But Cox countered in his appeal that the redistricting plan won wide bipartisan approval when it passed in 2011, including among African American legislators.

I still think that even the conservative members of the Supreme Court are going to get sick of having the same dead fish dumped on their docket every six or eight months and, somehow, slapping down the people who are delivering it, time and time again. Maybe I'm an optimist that way, but the techniques are getting so obvious now, in the face of a clear backlash at the polls, that maybe the Nine Wise Souls will decide they have something better to do.

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io