When Your ‘Black Congressional District’ is Headed by a White Guy

I’m not a fan of gerrymandering, no matter who does it, but Democrats had no problem redistricting half the states of California, Virginia and Maryland out of existence, but are protesting a new congressional map in Tennessee eliminating the one congressional seat in a state where Kamala got 34% of the vote by arguing that it eliminates a ‘majority black district’.

Majority racial districts should not exist. Abusing the Voting Rights Act to create them was itself gerrymandering and racist gerrymandering at that. And even more absurdly, the ‘majority black district’ they’re squawking about is repped by Rep. Steve Cohen.

And Cohen, despite occasionally claims otherwise, is white.

“My constituents don’t look at me as a white person. They say, ‘You’re one of us,’” Cohen said this morning. “And I took it was a compliment. I hear it in Memphis all the time.”

Cohen’s revelation Thursday that he is not the father of the woman he thought was his daughter preceded his Sunday tweet declaring that a tow truck driver told him, “You’re Black! Yo,” because of the congressman’s paternity troubles and old car.

Is there some pressing moral case for illegally carving out a racial district just to elect a white leftist?

For nearly two decades, Cohen has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, a Memphis-based seat long viewed as the state’s last reliable Democratic foothold. With Memphis and Shelby County divided into three districts under the new map, Cohen said the future feels uncertain.

“It’s not a good feeling,” Cohen said. “It’s very depressing, and it’s been like a living funeral almost.”

Steve can talk to California’s Kevin Kiley about it.