A pickup basketball game works until one guy starts losing, so he grabs the ball, folds his arms, and says, “Game is over unless we change the rules.” The game stops because somebody can’t stand the score.
I used to think that blue cities outside of the left coast had a smidgeon of common sense. Operative phrase, “Used to.” Then Detroit, Chicago, and of course, New York.
If you were to ask me when I thought common sense was, well, common, I’d have to tell you the truth: I think I was a freshman in high school. Since then, reality and I have been on a first-name basis.
New York, specifically Staten Island, is trying to remove the will of their voters by declaring the existence of Republicans effectively unconstitutional.
I’ll give you two guesses who made that decision, but you’ll only need one: a judge, who wrapped the idea in legal language, delivered the message with confidence, and aimed it straight at political competition.
A judge on Wednesday threw out the boundaries of the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ordering the state to redraw its borders because its current composition unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.
In his ruling Wednesday, Justice Jeffrey Pearlman said the New York district represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, which includes all of the borough of Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn, should be reconfigured before this year’s midterm elections.
The decision is less like the law and more like a child, yanking the ball away and leaving.
A Ruling That Goes Beyond Law
Justice Jeffrey Pearlman functions as a trial-level court despite serving on the New York Supreme Court. Pearlman authored the ruling, saying that Republican voter enrollment doesn’t reflect meaningful political participation in New York’s political structure.
But rather than reshaping the seat himself, Pearlman ordered New York’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the boundaries of the district by Feb. 6, a fast-approaching deadline.
The redistricting panel has the primary power to draw congressional maps, and is supposed to do so without gerrymandering the boundaries to give any party a political advantage. But, in the past, that commission has sometimes failed to reach an agreement on the makeup of a district, which has then given the Democrat-controlled state legislature the ability to tweak the lines in their favor.
Reading between the lines, his opinion concluded that the current districting failed constitutional scrutiny under state election law.
What job are courts mandated to do? Not to measure political strength, but to apply statutes. Despite Democrats’ dreams, Republican voters still register across New York City; donations continue to roll in, volunteers still organize, and campaigns still form. No statute empowers any judge to declare a political party irrelevant because it struggles to win in overwhelmingly one-sided districts.
So Staten Island needs to be gerrymandered so it’s combined with parts of Lower Manhattan, which doesn’t have much of a black population, but does have a fairly leftist one, to create a fake district that Republicans can’t win.
Bringing 2026 Midterms Into Focus
The upcoming midterm elections should punish overreach more often than ideology. New York is facing significant concerns: crime, population decline, housing pressure, and fiscal strain. Any competitive political race introduces uncertainty, which invites a firmer grasp on control.
However, when one side can reduce the opposition before ballots are printed, the risk isn’t as great for those already in charge.
Something Democrats, living in their bubbles, never realize is that by making such sweeping changes, they sharpen voter resentment. It’s easier for people to cope with losing an election—at least for most Republicans—than losing choices.
Political tactics always push boundaries, taking that mile when offered the inch. Other states keep an eye on outcomes, then copy those methods.
The left is still trying to normalize judicial gatekeeping, but if it’s ever normalized, reversals will be rare.
Final Thoughts
The kid gripping the basketball is convinced that his ownership of the ball equals victory. But everybody who knows a game is controlled by fear never stays fair.
It hurts me to type this because it will be an anathema to the Democratic Party in New York: the state faces a choice. If a system is confident that ideas strengthen competition, it grows stronger, while a system scared of voters changes the rules midway through the game.
One path preserves legitimacy, and the other clears the field.
Power never disappears quietly. It resists, it rationalizes, and it reaches for shortcuts. PJ Media VIP digs into moments where institutions test how far control can stretch before accountability snaps. Join the conversation and support independent analysis.
