The losses keep on coming

Top court upholds most of Texas redistricting plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of a bitterly contested Texas congressional map engineered by then-Rep. Tom DeLay to help solidify Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Although the justices refused to overturn the entire map, they ruled that one district in southwestern Texas violated the federal voting rights law.

The Supreme Court's decision upholding most of the redistricting plan could make it harder for Democrats to win control of the 435-seat House in the November elections.

In the lead opinion for the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "We reject the statewide challenge to Texas' redistricting as an unconstitutional political gerrymander and the challenge to the redistricting in the Dallas area as a violation of the Voting Rights Act."

The redistricting plan had been challenged by Democrats, minority groups and others who argued the 2003 plan had been motivated by unconstitutional political purposes.

But check out how the NYT spin it:
The fractured decision was a small victory for Democratic and minority groups who accused Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democratic incumbents out of office.

And to show how the media clearly spins...read the different ways this story has been reported:
Supreme Court Mostly Upholds Texas Redistricting
Supreme Court Overturns Part of Texas Redistricting Map