{"id":4011,"date":"2011-02-04T08:23:16","date_gmt":"2011-02-04T16:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=4011"},"modified":"2011-02-04T08:23:16","modified_gmt":"2011-02-04T16:23:16","slug":"the-republican-war-on-voting-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/04\/the-republican-war-on-voting-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"The Republican War on Voting Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time the Democrats were the party of racism.  In 1964 the Democratic National Convention was in my home town, Atlantic City.  In one of my first demonstrations I joined the Mississippi Freedom Democrats \u201cOne Man, One Vote\u201d demonstration for inclusion in the convention.  That was the last gasp of the racist Dixiecrats, because the next year LBJ passed the Voting Rights Act.  The racists defected from the Democratic Party and the Republicans welcomed them with open arms.  Ever since, the Republican Party has used all possible means, legal or otherwise, to disenfranchise minority voters, thus stripping them of their right to vote.  Their latest tactic in this regard is their intent to gut the Voting Rights Act itself.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"4VotingRights\"As state legislatures gear up for the decennial process of congressional redistricting, one of the few obstacles preventing excessive gerrymandering<\/a> in a handful of southern states is the Voting Rights Act of 1965<\/a>. Still, despite the legislation\u2019s massive success<\/a> in preventing racism, many conservatives are dead set on dismantling the longstanding civil rights law<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In December, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) sounded the rallying cry. During a press conference, Cuccinelli declared that Virginia had \u201coutgrown<\/a>\u201d institutional racism, and therefore ought to be exempted from the Voting Rights Act. (Virginia is one of nine<\/a> southern and western states that must get their new redistricting maps pre-approved by the Justice Department in order to prevent discrimination against minority voters<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Now, one of the architects of the Republican redistricting efforts, former Sen. Norm Coleman, wants to \u201creconsider\u201d the entire Voting Rights Act<\/strong>. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Coleman argued that it was \u201cabsolutely\u201d the right move to loosen the Voting Rights Act\u2019s provisions that prevent legislators from drawing redistricting maps with a clear racial bias<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

…Watch it:<\/p>\n