Molly Ball, Wall Street Journal:
Standing at the wooden lectern at the front of the state House chamber, Republican state Rep. Todd Hunter put the purpose of his legislation to redraw Texas' congressional map in forthright terms. "The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward," he said: "Improve Republican political performance." What might once have been considered a damning admission was embraced as an explicit rationale as the state House proceeded to pass the map on a party-line vote late Wednesday.