TBR 2K25 Episode 63: Heads They Win, Tails You Lose

🌟 Episode OverviewThis week on The Barrington Report, Barrington threads three stories that share one spine: power, at every level, rewriting the rules to protect itself. Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday by a 2% margin to let the state legislature redraw congressional districts mid-decade — a move that could flip up to four seats — and a Republican-appointed judge blocked the result less than 12 hours later. Tennessee Republicans voted to seize control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, stripping authority from a locally elected school board governing a $1.7 billion district serving 100,000 students in the state’s largest majority-Black county — and on the same day, the governor signed a companion bill preventing that district from using its own money to sue. And in Washington, four House members faced ethics reckonings this month. Three resigned. One is daring his colleagues to call the vote. The thesis: the pattern is not partisan. The pattern is power. And the only question that matters is whether you’re paying close enough attention to notice when the rules change — because they always change before the vote, and they always change in favor of the people changing them.🎹 Key Highlights🗺️ The Gerrymander Con — Both Parties, Named and Numbered Tuesday, April 21st, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment 50.7 to 49.3 — 2.5 million ballots cast, a 2% margin, essentially a coin flip. The new map could shift Virginia’s congressional delegation from 6-5 Republican to 10-1 Democratic. Four seats potentially flipped, not because voters changed their minds, but because the lines on the map got redrawn around them. Less than 12 hours later, a Republican-appointed Virginia circuit court judge in Tazewell County blocked the certification. Before anyone on the right cheers that judge, walk it back. Last summer, President Trump pressured Texas Republicans to redraw their map mid-decade to pick up as many as five seats before the 2026 midterms. Missouri followed. Ohio followed. North Carolina followed. Florida’s special session starts April 28th. California Democrats responded with their own initiative to flip five seats. Utah drew another Democratic seat. Virginia just authorized four more. Axios analysis using 2024 election data shows Kamala Harris would have carried six more seats under the new lines than she did under the old ones. Even House Republicans are admitting it on the record — California Rep. Kevin Kiley told Axios “I wish none of this had happened.” Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon called it a mistake in hindsight. The signature line: “Politicians drawing their own districts is politicians picking their own voters. That is not democracy. That is a rigged game where the scoreboard gets painted after the play.”🏫 Memphis Taken, Philly Cut — How the System Sorts Children Wednesday night, April 22nd, Tennessee passed Senate Bill 714. Senate 27-6, House 73-19, both down party lines. The bill creates a nine-member politically appointed board — not elected, appointed — with sweeping authority over Memphis-Shelby County Schools, a district serving over 100,000 students with a $1.7 billion budget at the heart of the state’s largest majority-Black county. Five members appointed by Governor Bill Lee, two by the House Speaker, two by the Senate Speaker. One board member, by design, gets picked from anywhere else in Tennessee. The board can hire and fire the superintendent, hire and fire teachers, open and close schools, and set curriculum for four years with an option to renew for two more. On the same day, Governor Lee signed a separate bill preventing Tennessee school districts from using public funds to sue over state accountability measures — the school board had already voted to hire a lawyer, and the governor made sure they couldn’t pay one with the district’s own money. Yes, 75% of Memphis students failed reading and math proficiency last year. That’s a real failure. But that same district earned the state’s highest possible academic growth score for the fourth year running, and 80% of Tennessee schools already meet two of the six criteria the new law uses to justify a takeover. Meanwhile in Philadelphia, students are walking out as the district moves forward with closures gutting sports, AP classes, math coverage, and the arts. The Tennessee model is not staying in Tennessee. It is a blueprint. And when it arrives in Georgia — and it will — the question won’t be whether the test scores are bad enough. The question will be whether the community was paying attention before the vote happened.⚖️ Four Members, One Standard — Equal Weights, Equal Measures Run the roll. Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California — sexual misconduct allegations — resigned. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas — sexual misconduct allegations — resigned. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat of Florida — found guilty by the House Ethics Committee on 25 of 27 counts including funneling $5 million in misallocated COVID relief funds to her own congressional campaign, under federal criminal indictment — resigned Tuesday afternoon minutes before the Ethics Committee was set to recommend her expulsion. Cory Mills, Republican of Florida — under Ethics Committee investigation since August 2024, accused of stolen valor regarding his Bronze Star (five soldiers who served with him disputed his account to NOTUS), accused of domestic violence with a Florida judge issuing a restraining order, and tied through OCC reporting to nearly $1 million in federal weapons contracts secured during his time in Congress — has denied all wrongdoing. On Monday, Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to expel him. His response on X was to dare her to call the vote and post attacks on her drinking habits. Three out of four did the right thing. One won’t. Speaker Johnson said Monday he would not encourage Republicans to pursue expulsion against each other. Hakeem Jeffries’ caucus is not united on Mills either. Everyone in leadership seems to be hoping the Ethics investigation quietly runs out the clock. Now the Georgia hook: Rep. Hank Johnson, Democrat of Georgia, is on the record this week with Axios saying he regrets his vote to expel George Santos in 2023. Honorable man, and the consistency is respectable. But when the accused is a Congressional Black Caucus member, several CBC members suddenly discovered a deep concern for due process that was nowhere to be found when Santos was on the chopping block. The CBC chair issued a statement praising Cherfilus-McCormick — for funneling $5 million of disaster relief to her own campaign. The signature line: “Accountability is not a partisan weapon. It is a standard. If it only applies to the other side, it is not a standard — it is a grudge with a gavel.”⚖️ Reality Check* Virginia 50.7 to 49.3, blocked the next morning. Could flip 4 seats. 10-1 Democratic from 6-5 Republican.* Texas, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina already redrew. Florida special session starts April 28th. California, Utah, Virginia drew counter-maps.* Harris would have carried 6 more seats under the new maps using 2024 data.* Tennessee SB 714: Senate 27-6, House 73-19. Same-day companion bill bars countersuits.* Memphis-Shelby County: 100,000+ students, $1.7B budget, majority-Black county. 75% failed reading/math, highest growth score 4 years running.* 80% of Tennessee schools already meet 2 of 6 takeover criteria. Seven other districts meet 3 of 6. Two of those run by the state itself.* Cherfilus-McCormick: 25 of 27 Ethics counts, $5M COVID funds, under federal indictment.* Mills: Ethics open since August 2024, Bronze Star disputed by 5 fellow soldiers, restraining order, ~$1M in federal weapons contracts.* Three resignations, one holdout. Two Democrats, one Republican stepped down. One Republican refused.* Hank Johnson on the record regretting the Santos expulsion vote.* Georgia map: Oct 2023 VRA ruling (Judge Jones); House passed redraw 98-71, Senate 32-22, Kemp signed Dec 8, 2023. Lucy McBath’s coalition district collapsed. 9-5 Republican split preserved.🧠 Barrington’s Message“Every story this week is the same story. Power, at every level, rewriting the rules to protect itself. A mid-decade gerrymander in Virginia because the voters got inconvenient. A state takeover of Memphis schools because the local school board got inconvenient. A companion bill preventing that board from suing because the courts might get inconvenient. A Speaker who won’t push his own party’s accountability because the math might get inconvenient. The pattern is not partisan. The pattern is power. And the only question that matters is whether you’re paying close enough attention to notice when the rules change — because they always change before the vote, and they always change in favor of the people changing them.”📬 Stay ConnectedSubscribe: barrington.substack.com Follow: @TBR24_7 on X Listen Live: ATL Talks Radio – Atlanta’s #1 Streaming Talk Radio🧩 Why You Should ListenIf you’re tired of cable news training you to root for one team’s gerrymander while crying foul at the other’s, this is your show. The Barrington Report cuts through the partisan theater to deliver the civic intelligence that actually moves your vote, your child’s classroom, and your representative’s seat — with no sponsors, no agenda, and no tribal loyalty. Every Thursday, the pain of truth. The truth is the only loyalty. Pay attention. Show up. Get full access to The Barrington Report 24/7 at barrington.substack.com/subscribe