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After the Supreme Court struck down a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act this morning,
several prominent conservative groups and writers tap-danced on the historic
civil rights legislation’s grave.
Writing at National Review,
a magazine that defended segregation and has more recently published pieces by white
nationalists and “race realists,” John Fundsuggested that “The Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn a small part of
the 1965 Voting Rights Act is actually a victory for civil rights.”
“As the court noted,” Fund
continued, “what made sense both in moral and practical terms almost a half
century ago has to be approached anew.” What Fund calls a “small” portion of
the VRA, the “preclearance” power the Court severely limited, represented the sole stumbling block preventing
several racially discriminatory laws from going into effect.
True the Vote, a
conservative group that pushed for precisely these laws, also celebrated the Court’s ruling. “This is without doubt a step in the right direction
for our Republic,” Catherine Engelbrecht, the group’s Vice-President, said.
True the Vote has been instrumental inhelping spread voter ID laws around the country, several of which have been preempted by the Section 5 powers the Court neutered today.
Erick Erickson, the
Editor-in-Chief of RedState and a Fox News contributor, tweeted “YES! Pre-clearance unconstitutional.” While technically
inaccurate — the Court did not rule that the Justice Department’s Section 5
power to prevent the implementation of racially discriminatory voting laws was
unconstitutional, only that that the Section 4 formula for determining what
jurisdictions were covered under Section 5 was — Erickson’s victory dance was
right in effect, as the only path to restoring Section 5 is a highly unlikely
Congressional rewrite of the Section 4 formula.
Yesterday, Erickson tweeted “Sitting at the dinner table. Realize its Paula Deen branded
furniture. Quite nice. Seats ten.” Deen iscurrently under fire for using the word “nigger” and
dreaming about a “southern plantation-style wedding” with black servers and
white guests; National Review’s VRA piece had a banner link at the
top to a piece titled “In Defense of Paula Deen.”
The only way to redraw what states are affected by the Voting Rights Act is to cover them all because any time the GOP takes control of any state, Voting Rights of most everybody are threatened.
ReplyDeleteRT: David Waldman @KagroX
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have been shot already, so we probably don't need the Second Amendment any more.
RT: Christopher Hayes @chrislhayes
ReplyDeleteLefties who say that "both parties are the same" should look at how each party responds to VRA decision. It will not be the same.
RT: LOLGOP @LOLGOP
ReplyDeleteI'm just a white guy in a robe asking you to understand that racism as it existed in 1965 is basically over.
RT: Teju Cole @tejucole
ReplyDeleteSupreme Court Votes to Remove Suspension Cables From Brooklyn Bridge, Says "Physics Has Changed"
RT: Ezra Klein @ezraklein
ReplyDeleteCounterfactual time: Imagine a world where bills passed the Senate with a simple majority but the Supreme Court required a supermajority
Statement by the President on the Supreme Court Ruling on Shelby County v. Holder
ReplyDeleteI am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision today. For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act – enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in Congress – has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans. Today’s decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent.
As a nation, we’ve made a great deal of progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote. But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists. And while today’s decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of our efforts to end voting discrimination. I am calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls. My Administration will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a fair and equal voting process.
Shannyn Moore @shannynmoore
ReplyDeleteWhen you consider how racist the GOP in #Alaska is, the #SCOTUS decision is devastating for the voting rights of First Alaskans.
RT: George Zornick @gzornick
ReplyDeleteSchumer realtalks: If GOP has "a majority in the House and Democrats don't have 60 votes in the Senate, there will be no pre clearance."
RT: Andrea Russett @AndreaRussett
ReplyDeleteteach kids how to think, not what to think
"The Hastert Rule precludes us from reruling on defeated voting preclearance rules." - GOP
ReplyDelete