Jesse Jackson: Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed

[Wilms]

Chicago Sun Times

Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed

March 8, 2005

BY JESSE JACKSON

Beware the stranger bearing gifts. Or as the law teaches, caveat emptor, buyer beware. Look before you leap. All these warnings apply to the emerging Republican positioning on the Voting Rights Act.

-snip-

Now some GOP leaders are suggesting that the law be made "national and permanent." That sounds good. By making it national, strict scrutiny will apply to all states. By making it permanent, the periodic battles over reauthorization will not be necessary.

But beware. This plan, hatched in right-wing think tanks, sounds good, but is designed to gut the Voting Rights Act. By making it national and permanent, the Congress would set the act up for being ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Since the act focuses on race, it requires strict scrutiny to make certain there is a rational basis for its provisions. If it is made national and permanent, divorced from the record of discrimination that requires special review, the act could well be deemed unconstitutional. Republicans will have used the court to murder the Voting Rights Act while pretending to have clean hands.

-snip/more-

http://www.suntimes.com/output/jesse/cst-edt-jesse081.html

[paineinthearse]

1. Is this Rev Jackson or Rep Jackson? nt

[Kevin Spidel]

2. Rev. n/t

[KaliTracy]

3. man, this just reeks... how low can they go? oh we know, pretty darn low.

thanks for the link Wilms.

[Wilms]

6. Thank VotersUnite

Their news page is where I orginally saw the piece.

http://www.votersunite.org/news.asp

[GetTheRightVote]

4. Man, they really make you so mad with their despicable ways

Back stubbing you know whats ...... :mad:

[mhr]

5. Something Tells Me That Some Democrats Will Probably Enable This

Witness that the Senate Dems just caved on the Bankruptcy bill.

[punpirate]

7. If a new law appears...

... that will be a clue. All that is necessary is to renew the Act as is. If they decide to do something else, Jackson may be right.

[Amaryllis]

8. Do they take lessons in being sneaky and slimy? Making some BADDD karma.

[Wilms]

11. Actually, some of them give lessons on being sneaky and slimy n/t

[Nite Owl]

9. The nominees that he renominated

again for judges, why them in particular? Are they part of their plan? It doesn't make sense that he has to have this group there have got to be other cons that he could put in.

[Wilms]

10. Perhaps.

But hopefully, there are only so many of that ilk around.