On Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down Alabama’s congressional map on the basis that it was a violation of the 1964 Voting Rights Act. The partisan decision was even more head-scratching when it was revealed that so-called conservative justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh joined the three leftists on the court. As was expected, the three evening news broadcasts gloated over the ruling.
ABC’s World News Tonight was the most obnoxious with justice correspondent Terry Moran breathlessly hyping the “Supreme Court stunner.”
“Two conservative Justices, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's liberals in striking down Alabama's congressional map that critics said diluted the power of black voters,” Moran gushed.
“Today's ruling will have immediate impacts on another congressional district in Alabama with a majority black population and more,” he hyped.
Moran then brought on former President Barack Obama’s corrupt Attorney General Eric Holder to allow him to spout off. “This is gonna have an impact far beyond Alabama and will have an impact on who controls the United States House of Representatives after the 2024 election,” Holder proclaimed.
After Holder was done, Moran returned on screen and go weak knees: “Already, today, the Cook Political Report which handicaps elections changed its ratings for five House races moving each one toward the Democrats and saying that today's ruling will send shock waves right across the country.”
Over on CBS Evening News, anchor Norah O’Donnell used a news brief to report the news. It was mostly straightforward except for when she declared it a “major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court for the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.”
Meanwhile, on NBC Nightly News, legal correspondent Laura Jarrett told anchor Lester Holt that the decision was “a real surprise, especially given the court's past decisions, and one with potentially big implications for 2024 as the high court today reaffirmed the key part of the Voting Rights Act aimed at preventing race discrimination.”
This coverage of the Supreme Court’s election interference was made possible by Angi on ABC, Prevagen on CBS, and Verizon on NBC. Their information is linked.
The transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
6/8/2023
6:43:11 p.m. EasternTERRY MORAN: Tonight a Supreme Court stunner. Two conservative Justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's liberals in striking down Alabama's congressional map that critics said diluted the power of black voters. In a 5-4 decision the court upheld a lower court ruling that found a redistricting map drawn by the Republican-led Alabama legislature violated the Voting Rights Act because it only drew one district out of seven that had a majority of black voters, even though more than one in four Alabamians are black.
[...]
MORAN: Today's ruling will have immediate impacts on another congressional district in Alabama with a majority black population and more.
ERIC HOLDER: This is gonna have an impact far beyond Alabama and will have an impact on who controls the United States House of Representatives after the 2024 election.
MORAN: Already, today, the Cook Political Report which handicaps elections changed its ratings for five House races moving each one toward the Democrats and saying that today's ruling will send shock waves right across the country.
CBS Evening News
6/8/2023
6:39:43 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: Well, tonight, a major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court for the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. In a 5-4 decision the justices struck down Alabama's Republican-drawn congressional map. Which only included one majority-black district. Despite more than one-quarter of the state's population being black. The ruling means Alabama will have to redraw its congressional map to include a second majority-black district. The opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh also joined the court's three liberal justices in the ruling.
NBC Nightly News
6/8/2023
6:39:17 p.m. EasternLAURA JARRETT: Lester, a real surprise, especially given the court's past decisions, and one with potentially big implications for 2024 as the high court today reaffirmed the key part of the Voting Rights Act aimed at preventing race discrimination. Now the 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority sided with those voting rights advocates who argued Alabama lawmakers had drawn their congressional maps in a way that diluted the power of black voters to elect the candidates of their choice by cramming them all into just a single district. That's a move that caused the Chief Justice and Justice Kavanaugh to side with the court's more liberal members and break with their conservative colleagues. Now the upshot of this decision is that Alabama will now have to redo the map for the next election, but the case could also bolster challenges over gerrymandering we see in other red states, and those are ongoing, Lester.
