House Democrats gloated on Twitter today that Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) “shamed” Republicans into pulling a “voter suppression amendment” off the floor.
Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) introduced the amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013 yesterday. It would have prohibited federal funds to be used to carry out or enforce section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Section 5 requires that the Department of Justice “preclear” in certain jurisdictions any attempt to change “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting.” A jurisdiction seeking preclearance has to prove that the change would not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
“It is hard and difficult and almost unbelievable that any member, especially a member from the state of Georgia, would come and offer such amendment,” Lewis said on the floor. “…It’s shameful to come here tonight and say to the Department of Justice, ‘You must not use one penny, one cent, one dime, one dollar to carry out the mandate of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.’”
The amendment was withdrawn the same day as its introduction by unanimous consent.
Dems completed their victory with a video gloat:
It’s a shame that he backed down and withdrew it.
Historically, in the nineteenth century, and to a lesser degree, the twentieth century, the Democrats were the most guilty of voter suppression. Always remember that the Democrats acted hand in glove with the Ku Klux Klan in preventing blacks from voting.
Today, so many years after the electoral reforms of the 1960s, the Democrats use Section Five to prevent improvements to voting such as the de minimis requirement that voters show some form of identification when voting.
The central problem with any form of voter suppression is that the true will of the electorate is never heard. In the past, the Democrats and the KKK prevented blacks from voting through poll taxes and rigged literacy tests. Almost no blacks turned out to vote as a result. Thus, white Democratic votes were given more weight than was justified. Today, Democrats, largely, flood the vote with bogus voters, and sometimes dead voters. Thus, Republican and conservative votes are diluted and given less weight. The same result as in the past occurs, however. Democrat and liberal votes are thus given more weight than is justified.
Unless integrity can be re-established at the ballot box, we are fast going the way of the Muslim world where “democracy” is encouraged to have one vote, a final vote, followed by dictatorship.
But, of course, we all know that Obama or some other Democrat would only be a benevolent dictator from whom many blessings would flow to us all.
Wrong approach. They need to do a lot more work to expose voter fraud and selective, race-based inforcement by the DOJ before attempting an amendment like this. It must become “conventional wisdom” that enforcing Section 5 in the year 2012 is a joke and that DOJ’s civil rights arm is biased and corrupt. Then you can pass your amendment. And don’t sneak it through by attaching it to some appropriations bill. It should be the main event.
So, John, you’re saying most Georgians would still try to play old segregation tactics if they coud? Because that seems like what you are saying.
Well, putz off. You lied about the Tea Party the day of the health care signing, and I’ve had enough of you. Your district is not the only thing going on in the state, and I see no reason for any businessman who is not already a Progressive to locate there. I hope to be able to convince others of that, as much as I can. HAND.
Ah, righteous indignation from another member of the eternally aggrieved Democrat party. Whatever, John Lewis. You and your ilk enjoy the decline while the adults try to fix a broken system.