The Virginia Supreme Court delivered a brutal slap across the face of far-left extremists on Friday, striking down their redistricting referendum that aimed to hijack Virginia’s congressional map with one of the most egregious gerrymanders in political history.

What was previously a fair and competitive 6-Democrat, 5-Republican split would have been warped into a heinously unfair 10-1 Democratic stranglehold. The court ruled that Democratic lawmakers shredded constitutional procedures in ramming through the amendment, declaring that the flawed process “incurably taints” the entire referendum and nullifying it completely. 

Virginia’s existing boundaries stay locked in for the 2026 midterms. This fiasco was cheered on by Governor Abigail Spanberger and her Democratic allies — despite Spanberger flat-out lying to voters during her campaign, swearing she had zero intention of touching the state’s congressional lines. Spanberger now has egg on her face as Democrats lose momentum in the state with her top Senate ally now under investigation.

The ballot language was a masterpiece of sophistry, deceptively asking voters to temporarily adopt new districts to “restore fairness” when it was in actuality a naked power grab. Even with the campaign of deception, the referendum barely passed by just a two-point margin in April. Now the state Supreme Court has declared the nefarious scheme as unconstitutional. President Donald Trump hailed the ruling as a “huge win for the Republican Party, and America,” and that cannot be understated.

Democrats tried to rig the system, violated the Constitution to do it, and Virginia’s highest court called them to account. They got cocky, overreached, and it’s blowing up in their faces. After this ruling, it is clear that the Democrats are losing the redistricting wars badly — and that does not bode well for their chances heading into the midterms.

Republicans are dominating this fight nationwide. Through aggressive map-drawing in red states, the GOP stands to net major seat gains by November. Texas alone could deliver five additional Republican seats under its new map signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Florida’s freshly approved map is poised to add three to four more GOP seats. Missouri adds one, North Carolina another one, with potential gains in Ohio, Tennessee, and elsewhere pushing the Republican edge to roughly eight or more net seats following completed redraws.

President Trump was wise to understand that Republicans had a structural advantage in this mid-decade redistricting cycle, with maps in key states tilting toward the GOP while Democratic counter-efforts — like the one that just failed in Virginia — are collapsing under legal scrutiny. This puts House Republicans in a much stronger defensive position for 2026, raising their floor even in a potentially challenging midterm environment and making a Democratic flip far harder.

This victory would never have materialized without a fearless visionary leader like President Trump with the balls to upend long-standing political traditions. President Trump refused to play by the weak-kneed rules that have hamstrung Republicans for decades. He showed the way forward: fight hard, fight smart, and never apologize for winning. And through sheer force of personality, President Trump was able to drag most Republicans into a battle they never would have considered getting into otherwise.

The lesson is Republicans must be bold. We must fight like President Trump on every single issue. The days of lazy, weak-kneed Republicans must come to an end. Tough, relentless MAGA warriors are replacing them. Look at Indiana, where spineless GOP state senators tried to block mid-decade redistricting and got primaried into oblivion by America First challengers. Good riddance to those gutless Benedict Arnolds. And even that internal reckoning turned into a total win: it purified the party, installing fighters who will actually deliver, and setting an example to strengthen the GOP for years to come.

Democrats’ humiliation in Virginia puts the MAGA Republican Party in pole position for the midterms. Democrat maps are crumbling, Republican maps are holding or expanding, and the momentum is decisively behind President Trump as panic sets in among his foes. Arrogant Democrats got a painful reminder this week of the limits of their power within the bounds of the Constitution. Republicans who embrace the Trump playbook will keep delivering more unprecedented victories. The redistricting wars aren’t over, but the scoreboard is looking awfully good for America First.

A Love Letter

I recently learned, belatedly, that Arthur Pomposello had passed away. From COVID, like so many other greats. His obituary in the New York Times by Alex Traub was quite thoughtful. The lede:

Arthur Pomposello, the host of the Oak Room, the cabaret supper club in the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan practiced the arts of theatricality and discretion…

He also practiced the art of kindness.

The backstory: When I was about 23 years old living in southern California and wanting to be a singer, I went to Palm Springs to see Mel Torme in concert. I went backstage and gave Mel a demo tape. Whilst a great guy, Mel really didn’t give a shit and handed it off to his piano player. Said piano player called me the next morning and invited me back to PS for their second show and to talk. And talk we did. He asked me to come to New York and sing in his own band he was planning.

So I moved. In haste. Turns out there was no band, although the pianist and I worked together for a bit.

At the time I had a fascination with Harry Connick, Jr. I suppose you could say I was chasing him. I didn’t want to be him, I wanted to beat him, as we were close in age and I knew my voice was stronger. I also knew that he got an early start in The Oak Room, hosted by Arthur. So of course I set out to the Algonquin (which for 30 years now is the only place I will stay in Manhattan) and I asked for him. And out he came. And he sat with me. I told him I was new in town and would like to play the Oak Room. It’s called moxie.

For someone so distinguished — and important — he was unbelievably kind and patient with this little upstart. I left him with a demo tape (cassette — remember those?) and he called me the very next day. “You are not a cabaret singer” he said. Which bummed me out because Harry wasn’t either in my opinion. But he recommended other venues for me to play, which I proceeded to do, successfully.

Then Sony got involved, understandably protecting their asset. And I was sent off to England to make my first record. 17 songs. Two days. In the same studio as Def Leppard were happening to be working, actually. There was a pub in the studio, which is awesome, where we hung out for a minute. They were cool as hell. I only met a few of them, but it was really fun.

Throughout, Arthur kept an eye on me. Whenever I rolled into the Algonquin, there he was, ushering me in with a hug. He wouldn’t book me, but I was always more than welcome.

We went on to stay in general touch throughout my career — I’m on my sixth album now — but our last face to face interaction was probably our best. Unbeknownst to me he had moved from the Algonquin to a great spot in Times Square called Iridium. My former pianist would work there on Monday nights backing up the legendary Les Paul, who had taken up residency. So I went to see them.

And who is at the door but Arthur. My buddy. Holy cow.

He grabs me by the shoulders and says “you have to sing tonight! Let me take you back to see Les!”

And I’m like, “wuuuut?”

In a state of complete confusion, he leads me back to the dressing room where Les is seated and prepping. Arthur proceeds to give the kindest introduction, and Les invites me to sing with him. Holy shit, right? I mean rock stars in town come on Monday nights to be onstage with Les.

Les asks me what I would like to sing. I say “How about I Could Write A Book” and he goes “I adore that song!” I think maybe he said it was a track he did with his late wife.

So we did it. And more. It was, honestly, one of the greatest nights of my life. All because of Arthur. Arthur Pomposello.

More from the NYT obit:

A dark-haired former model in a tuxedo, he parted a red curtain to allow guests inside. He glided onstage and introduced Andrea Marcovicci, for decades the Oak Room’s main attraction, as “our songbird.” He gossiped with journalists about what he called “my cabaret” and in return the newspapers gave him labels like “a loquacious fixture.”

Loquacious indeed, but that’s not even the half of it. God bless you, Arthur Pomposello. And thank you.

Love, Christian

By Christain Josi for Medium – https://christianjosi.medium.com/arthur-and-me-4229ccda3246

Mollie Hemingway told FBN’s Stuart “Varney & Co.” that President Obama’s recent comments about “rule of law” and the Republican Party are “reprehensible” coming from him.

“It’s almost reprehensible commentary from the man who led, who instigated the Russia collusion hoax, one of the most horrific things perpetrated on this country. He refused to accept his loss, so he orchestrated this entire effort to run a coup against the incoming president,” she said.

STUART VARNEY, FOX BUSINESS: New York Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman says he’s optimistic about his party taking back the majority in the House, and then he says he can lead multiple investigations of Trump and his Cabinet. Watch this.

REP. DAN GOLDMAN: What I’m optimistic about is, we take back the majority, and people like Jamie Raskin and I will be leading investigations into Trump’s corruption, into all of the Cabinet officials and this gross abuse of power. We will get to the bottom of a lot of it, and we will reveal it, and it will become transparent. I think part of what people seem to think is they give him a pass because he does it out in the open. There’s a lot he does not do in the open, and when that comes out, it is going to be very bad.

STUART VARNEY: Okay. Investigate, investigate, and then impeach. Is that what the country wants, Mollie?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, THE FEDERALIST: I think it’s what Democrats want.

This is a guy who supported the Russian collusion hoax, and he wants a reason for Democrats to show up in the midterms.

I would say Republican members of Congress need to give their voters — particularly the members of the Republican Senate who don’t seem to be doing that much — they need to give a reason for their voters to show up in the midterms, or else all you’re going to see is impeachment proceedings and similar investigation-type efforts.

STUART VARNEY: I can’t see that being popular with the country — regardless of whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican. Does this country want a whole bunch of investigations and maybe impeachment? I just don’t think the country wants it.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: I certainly don’t think a lot of the country wants it, but those people who are going to show up in the primaries do, and the Republicans need to take it seriously.

You’ve seen it in previous elections. They’re not showing up to vote at the same level that some of the more Trump-deranged Democratic voters are.

STUART VARNEY: I love that phrase, Trump-deranged.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I’m saying that I’d love a Republican Party that believed in the rule of law.

I’d love a Republican Party that is conservative in some ways, that didn’t agree with me on a whole bunch of stuff, but believed in rule of law and judicial independence and empirical evidence in science, and wasn’t constantly tapping into our worst impulses.

There has been a Republican Party like that in the past, and I want to see that return.

STUART VARNEY: Oh, my. What do you say to that? A bit rich, isn’t it?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: It’s almost reprehensible commentary from the man who led, who instigated the Russia collusion hoax, one of the most horrific things perpetrated on this country. He refused to accept his loss, so he orchestrated this entire effort to run a coup against the incoming president. It caused so much trouble, so many people were put in prison, and it was all based on something that he knew was a lie.

I’m glad that a wide variety of voices has condemned this lying from this former president. He did so much to destroy rule of law.

Holding people accountable for what they did to the country is not lawfare. It’s simply justice. People of all types need to speak out against what he did and how much he destroyed the FBI, the DOJ, our intelligence agencies, and our whole conception of accepting elections when you lose.

I know he’s sad that his party lost in 2016, but that’s no excuse for the real destruction he wrought on the country.

By Tim Hains for Real Clear Politics