Winning the War Against the ’60s, One Day at a Time
Someday, some smarmy asshole with a girl’s name is gonna kill this act.
After a public humiliation on basic cable, Lynn Westmoreland has finally made a name for himself in the house. No, not by actually sponsoring a bill, but by helping to kill one! That bill? Why, some outdated pork called the Voting Rights Act, of course! House Republican leaders have removed the 1965 civil rights legislation from the calendar, citing their inability to add an infinite number of riders to it. And also because everyone in Congress is basically a petty, opportunist bastard. Westmoreland already has a couple nice amendments all picked out:
Those amendments, authored by Westmoreland and Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.), seek to redefine a major portion of the law requiring the Justice Department to approve any changes to voting practices in certain states.
We don’t know what the hell that means either. Whatever, Boehner could attach a rider mandating that poll monitors push all elderly voters down a staircase to test their soundness to vote, we’re not really surprised by much anymore.
VRA Pulled From House Calendar [Roll Call]
READ MORE: Republicans, civil rights, congress, john boehner, lynn westmoreland
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Basically if the Southern states want to change their voting laws, they have to pass it by Justice first (in its current form). Lynn wants to remove that requirement so Georgia can keep blacks from voting again. And homos. Almost forgot the homos. I swear to God, if the Dems don't jump all over this one and get the base riled up, there is no hope for them.
by TallyHo on 06/21/06 03:04 PM
I heard this Douche Bag on CSPAN this morning and his rationale for "loosening" the regulations imposed by the act were that his constituency had been in compliance since the act passed and that they haven't had a complaint filed since 1982.
When asked if he thought the Act had help create the fair voting record in Georgia he admitted that it had, but that it wasn't needed anymore because they had demonstrated that they were all grown up. Riiiiiiiight.
As soon as the Act goes away, Tom Delay will be re-zoning Georgia voting districts.
I cannot tell if Republicans have such a low opinion of the general public's intellect or if they really think that bigotry is a new value or if they just don't give a shit what anyone thinks.
by AfghanVet on 06/21/06 03:52 PM
They had time to vote down a minimum wage increase, too.
Why do they hate America so much?
by Ben on 06/21/06 05:08 PM
Maybe we can convince Lynn that "Thou Shalt Not Disenfranchise the Minority Vote Unless the Attorney General Drags His Feet on a Remap As Happened in Mississippi in 2002" is a commandment.
by Barnacle on 06/21/06 05:30 PM
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