Politix & Dirty Trix~ Update. Voting Rights Act

Huzzah! Democrats Succeeded in Getting Voting Rights Act Passed!






Now onto the matters of adequate numbers of (auditable) voting machines in Democratic voters' areas, refusing to let polling places close early, not making voters stand for hours in the rain, & no jamming of phone centers' call lines.

But yes! A good start!
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1965 Was NOT That Long Ago
And 1993 even less so.

Demon Princess wants to open this item by sharing a true story of a series of encounters she had in 1993 in a Southern state in which she lived at the time. She had a neighbor--well not exactly a neighbor, but the landlord of a neighbor, who seemed always to be around somehow, especially after he learned that she had worked for a Civil Rights Commision in another state.

He was first lieutenant (metaphorically speaking) in the organization of that blatant racist David Duke who (frighteningly) had gained a lot of political traction, & was perpetually on her ass (not literally!) about one thing or another. It seemed interminable at the time, but weirdly enough, Demon no longer remembers what the substance of the arguments he made was. He didn't dare target anyone as being racially inferior. He was well-schooled by his party, but his motives were as transparent as a pane of glass.

David Duke’s profile, as it appears here on the Law Enforcement Resource Agency Network (as to hate crimes), notes:

“Duke pioneered the now common effort on the far right to camouflage racist ideas in hot-button issues like affirmative action and immigration, successfully appealing to race and class resentments. Similarly, he was one of the first neo-Nazi and Klan leaders to discontinue the use of Nazi and Klan regalia and ritual, as well as other traditional displays of race hatred, and to cultivate media attention.”
http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/duke.asp

So, that's why I take such an interest in the re-affirmation of the Voting Rights Act ("Politix & Dirty Trix" blog entry below) & the fact that it's still hung up in Congress, thanks to a few representatives of Southern states whining that they're still being punished for the sin of being Southern states dating back to 1965. It's just not fair, is it?

According to an ABC News report earlier today, they tried to add four amendments to the bill, probably knowing damned well (IMO) that doing so would virtually guarantee that it wouldn't get passed if they were successful.

"None of the four amendments, granted a vote on the eve of Thursday's floor debate, was expected to be added to the renewal.

"But their mere consideration was evidence of the power Southern conservatives wield even over their own Republican leaders. Complaining that the act as written would single out their states and localities for federal oversight without crediting them for strides on racial issues, the group forced GOP leaders to pull the bill and hold votes for amendments that would loosen the restrictions.

"'By passing this rewrite of the Voting Rights Act, Congress is declaring from on high that states with voting problems 40 years ago can simply never be forgiven,' said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.

"In one of the day's most emotional speeches, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., displayed photos of civil rights activists, including himself, who were beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965 as they marched from Selma to Montgomery in support of voting rights.

"'I have a concussion. I almost died. I gave blood; some of my colleagues gave their very lives,' Lewis shouted from the House floor..."

Divisive politics has become a Republican hallmark, as is revisiting & reviving issues that should shame them, besides being well-settled issues in the mainstream of American thought.

And, by the way, sending a clear message by appealing to those in their base whose "humanitarian" instincts-- aren't, quite.