Don't Trust Sensenbrenner and GOP on Voting Rights

Selma to Montgomery - A fading memory as James
 Sensenbrenner and GOP smirk at those beaten and killed

The idea that the Court's demolition of the VRA has transformed the GOP into caring about voting rights is ludicrous.

Don't be fooled by James Sensenbrenner and the Republican Party.

Some Republicans are crying crocodile tears over the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by their allies on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) and the Republicans could not care any less that minorities, college kids and homeless veterans are prevented from voting by GOP voter obstruction laws

Asked in April 2011 why Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a self-proclaimed voting rights supporter, didn't speak out against current GOP-passed laws in states [like Wisconsin and its restrictive Voter ID law] enshrining voter obstruction, Sensenbrenner's office's response was: "I don’t have a comment for you on this, as it [Wisconsin's Voter ID ] is a state law. But you are correct in pointing out that he was responsible for getting the VRA [Voting Rights Act] reauthorization passed through Congress in 2006 when he was Chair of the House Judiciary Committee."

The Voting Rights Act was constructed and passed precisely to stop local and state laws from obstructing voters, but Sensenbrenner's office claims the good Congressman cannot comment because Voter ID is a state law.

For the GOP, it's the Grand Ole Party first. And Americans' voting rights are in the way of the Party.

The take-away from this is that Sensenbrenner is a phony.

In the future, the GOP will likely engage in a shell game pretending to care about voting rights while they use some newly proposed version of the Voting Rights Act to tyr to enact voter obstruction legislation nationally and get as many Democrats as possible to absolve the Republicans of their crimes against democracy in the GOP's voter obstruction project.

Sensenbrenner and some other Republicans say they love the VRA, but like Sensenbrenner toe the GOP line on state Republican voter obstruction efforts, calling them "common-sense efforts to ensure the identity and citizenship of voters," (July 2012) words written after Sensenbrenner's office said he cannot comment on state laws from which the VRA protects Americans' right to vote.

You really trust these people? Voter obstruction is common sense to the GOP.

When presented with evidence of massive voter disfranchisement through voter ID  (as occurred in the legislative committee hearings in Wisconsin), the GOP has no comment.

Ahhh, voter ID is common sense.

Yes, well what about people being denied their right to vote" Voter ID is common sense.

Fortunately, we still have Section Two of the Voting Rights Act on the books.

Section Two reads in part:

- Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups identified in Section 4(f)(2) of the Act. Most of the cases arising under Section 2 since its enactment involved challenges to at-large election schemes, but the section's prohibition against discrimination in voting applies nationwide to any voting standard, practice, or procedure that results in the denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Section 2 is permanent and has no expiration date as do certain other provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

But suppose the DoJ begins employing Section Two widely; see how enthusiastic Sensenbrenner and the Republicans support the VRA at that point.