Things have changed a lot since 1965. The Voting Rights Act has the support of moderates and liberals, but was opposed by conservative anti-Latino Republicans, mostly in the west, and racist Democrats, called Dixiecrats in the south. Republicans representing the 1% saw an opportunity for power and made racism socially acceptable among their ranks by adopting the Southern Strategy. The bigots who opposed the Voting Rights act then are now the Republican base. Make no mistake they have wanted to Kill the Voting Rights Act ever since, and yesterday, they succeeded, at least for now. I made my feelings clear yesterday in SCROTUS Skewered Voting Rights Act. Now here are reports by three of my favorite pundits, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell, followed by a bit more of my own analysis.
Photo credit: Colorlines.com
Chris Hayes covered the story in three segments.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Two:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Three:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Rachel Maddow covered it in two segments.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Two:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Lawrence O’Donnell covered it in two segments.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Two:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Expect many House and Senate Republicans to make conciliatory noises at first. To do otherwise would be an admission of their racist intent. Many are more sneaky than that, especially in the Senate. They will make an appearance of negotiating, just as they have so many times in the past. We may be “just around the corner from a solution” for many years. In the meantime, Republicans at the state level will be demonstrating the true Republican goose-stepping to separate as many Black and Latino voters from their right to vote as quickly as they can. Every time they do so, it’s up to us to hang it around their neck, loud and often enough that even the most apathetic voters know what they are doing.
But I almost agree with SCROTUS on one thing. It is not fair to single out just the states on the 1972 list. Walker of Fitzwalkerstan, Kasich of Ohio, Snyder of Michigan, Branstad of Iowa, Corbett of Pennsylvania, Le Page of Maine and more are all pursuing racist Republican policies to disenfranchise minority voters. The only fair way forward to to extend the Title IV map to all fifty states. The only way to do that is to send Republican politicians to the unemployment line. That will be more difficult, because Republicans will have stolen the right to vote from many.
Now more then ever,
every Republican in office is one Republican too many!
13 Responses to “RIP Voting Rights”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
At a time when restrictive voter laws are being passed in State Houses and challenged in the courts, for the Supreme Court to say Sec. 4 is outdated, is another example of conservatives denying reality. Lets see how long it takes for voting abuses to rise again, as they did in the last election. In a short time whites will become a minority and experience the enevitable discrimination from the majority. Then whites will be screaming for laws to protect them, but they will be living in a time when the Supreme Court has ruled that protection for minorities in the voting process, is unneccessary. Really? Me thinks the best and brightest (Supreme Court Justices) have no clue about human behavior. No surprise since they come from their Ivory towers of privledged white culture. The justices distain for the protection of minority rights goes to the core of what we stand for in a most negative manner.
excuse the spelling errors, I was ranting, not paying attention
No need at all – it was a nice rant.
Rant on! ❗
You point out a most ironical asoect of this and I agree.
Things will not change until the membership of SCOTUS changes.
…and that is why no Republucan can be allowed to infest the White House.
This is another sui generis ruling, just like Bush v Gore, that has absolutely NO basis in the Constitution they swore to uphold, but was stitched out of whole cloth solely to serve their activist desire to disenfranchise American citizens of their right to vote.
Like Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, Citizens United, etc. – this is a dark moment for SCOTUS – and all of us!
I hope that Democrats will swiftly act to propose legislation enacting a VRA for the ENTIRE country. Realizing it will have no chance of passage in today's climate, at least it will force Rethuglicans to explain how they don't want certain people exercising their Constitutional right.
Amen, Namelesss!
Amen again!
My view, exactly!
Chris Hayes said the 2014 election campaign started today. I could not agree more with the way he layed it out. But will people understand that and get their ID etc in place and then turn out to vote?
With SCOTUS turning the matter over to the Congress, there is no way with the temper of today's Congress, that anything new will happen. States are already putting their own laws in place that will seriously restrict voting.
25/06/13 Demolition Derby of the VRA.
I agree. There will be a lot who can't on their own like poor/disabled folk who wiill be required to register at a place that no bus goes anywhere near. It is up to those who can to provide help for those who can't.
That's why they dod so.
Amen!
I was upset and put out by the SCROTUS decision to gut the Voting Rights Act. Now, we will see widespread discriminations of all kinds all across USA. As most of us know by now, discriminations have started!
I agree. That is the subject of tomorrow's lead article.