Some observations after reading the 200+ page decision by the federal panel that struck down North Carolina's district maps.

tl;dr:

1) Opinion finds rank, gleeful partisanship on the part of the Republican map makers.

2) It seems that the SCOTUS concern that there are no manageable standards is unfounded. "Two federal courts and five judges have now employed the test without apparent difficulty. Even more encouragingly, the five judges were appointed by Carter, Carter, Reagan, George W. Bush, and Obama."

Who said it? "If Republicans can’t win the war of ideas democratically, they won’t abandon their ideas. They’ll abandon democracy."