James Sensenbrenner Toes Party Line on Voter Obstruction

Not good enough for the GOP

Update III: Sensenbrenner is also one of only six serving in Congress today who opposed the federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. What a hypocrite.

Update II: See Voter ID forces attack voting rights, taking issue with Sensenbrenner's hypocrisy. (July 2013)


Updated: "There is no right more fundamental than the right to vote. It is the core of our democratic system of government, and its effective exercise preserves all other rights," said Wisconsin's U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner.

This is Sensenbrenner championing the 2006 renewal of the Voting Rights Act.

That was this, this is now.

Now, the Republican Party has decided to become the party of voter obstruction instituting voter-control measures in all states that they have the power to disenfranchise.

Texas is arguing that the landmark civil rights legislation, [Section 5] of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, is unconstitutional in a case that looks likely to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court

In light of this historic attack on the Voting Rights Act, James Sensenbrenner has become silent on voting rights, though Wisconsin's Republican Party has, along with other GOP-controlled states, inflicted damage to the core of our democratic system of government by attacking voting.

Contacted in early April for comment, his press office remains silent, not returning promised calls. [Update: Sensenbrenner's office: "I don’t have a comment for you on this, as it is a state law. But you are correct in pointing out that he was responsible for getting the VRA reauthorization passed through Congress in 2006 when he was Chair of the House Judiciary Committee."]

Weird. The VRA and its reauthorizations were passed to stop state voter obstruction efforts, but recent state voter obstruction efforts don't merit comment from the champion of the 2006 VRA.

For a time, I thought maybe Sensenbrenner would actually stick up for a principle of democracy.

For more information:

• GOP War on Voting
•  The Truth about Voter Fraud, a GOP Lie
• How Cries of Voter Fraud Cover Up GOP Elections Theft
• Bill Clinton: Voter ID Bills Are Worst Effort to Disenfranchise Voters Since Jim Crow Laws (VIDEO)

A 2006 study by the Brennan Center for Justice reports that 11 percent of U.S. citizens do not possess any government-issued photo ID. Point being that the GOP says they are not entitled to vote.

We is they.