AL Sen. Sessions opposes extension of the Voting Rights Act

[Bruden]

The Voting Rights Act and its protections for minority voters may no longer be necessary in parts of the South and Alabama, but Congress should consider expanding it to northern cities and states, Sen. Jeff Sessions said Tuesday.

The civil rights-era law is up for renewal this year, and a group of leading Republicans and Democrats are actively supporting its extension. Sessions is not among them, and instead is advising caution because parts of the law have become burdensome and irrelevant, he said.

"We don't want a fight over this," Sessions said in an interview after a congressional hearing on the topic. "Alabama is proud of its accomplishments, but we have the right to ask why other areas of the country are not covered by it."


http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/114725312269830.xml&coll=2

[muntrv]

1. Because too many people

in your neck of the woods have the same attitude as you, Jeff.

[babylonsister]

2. FYI, this from Conyers blog yesterday:

The house has no problem with it, what are Sessions' motives?

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000446.htm

Some Bipartisan Good News (for a change)

I am happy to report that today the House Judiciary Committee approved on a bipartisan 37-1 vote, legislation to reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act for another 25 years. Several Members on the GOP side tried to weaken the bilingual ballot provisions, but we beat back all the amendments and passed a clean bill. I hope the bill is on the House Floor next week, and than its on to the Senate, where the situation is a tad murkier.

So something good happened, and let me be the first to give those Republicans who worked with us -- including Chairman Sensenbrenner -- credit for lending their support. I was on the Judiciary Committee in 1965, when the Voting Rights first passed into law, and have been involved in every reauthorizaton. Today's markup was by far the smoothest one I have been a part of on this issue. So the battle is not over, but we are off to a good start.

[AspenRose]

3. Surprise, surprise: John Cornyn, you punk

"I want to make sure we're not indulging in stereotypes," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. He said it was "curious" that senators from states not covered by Section 5 were advocating its renewal."

[TheVirginian]

4. The motives aren't what they appear to be on the surface

Specific provisions of the Civil Rights Act maintain that some states require special supervision and oversight and other states don't. The bill basically calls Southern states racist and segregationalist. While this may have been true 40 years ago, its problematic for a Senator today from one of those states to endorse it. Northerners can argue that its still neccesary to single out those states and call them racist, but a Senator from one of those states would basically be calling his own constituents racist if he signed on to it. A lot of folks in the South feel very strongly about this reauthorization. They agree with its principles, but they don't want to see the South typecasted as ignorant backwoods racists.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Sessions always struck me as one of those Southern Racists from

the good ol' days. The kind that one would easily call a red neck cracker and not think twice about it.