Civil rights icon shames Republican into dropping anti-voting rights measurerawstory.com
Made popular 372 days ago in Politics
rawstory.com — Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) learned a lesson in humility on the floor of the House of Representatives Wednesday night.

Reacting to an amendment proposed by Broun that would withhold funding for the enforcement ofa key portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who actuallymarched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others during the civil rights movement, said that Broun’s move was “almost unbelievable.”

“Under [the Voting Rights Act], seven states in the south, as well as Arizona, Texas and a number of counties scattered across the country, are required to receive federal preclearance to every change they make in election laws,” Broun said. “The provision stipulates that only changes to election law in those covered locations, which are shown to be non-discriminatory, may be precleared. Unfortunately, the burden of proving that a change is non-discriminatory is on the state or locality which wishes to make the change.”

He added that the law, signed by President Lyndon Johnson (D), essentially assumes the guilt of southern states, making it an “onerous” burden and an “antiquated provision.” “My home state of Georgia, as an example, has long struggled with the U.S. Department of Justice over its identification laws,” Broun said, claiming his home state is “being discriminated against.”

Lewis’s response to that assertion was fiery, to say the least.

“Maybe some of us need to study a little contemporary history dealing with the question of voting rights. Just think, before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it was almost impossible for many people in the state of Georgia, in Alabama, in Virginia, in Texas, to register to vote, to participate in the democratic process. The state of Mississippi, for example, had a black voting-age population of more than 450,000, and only about 16,000 were registered to vote. One county in Alabama, there was more than 80 percent not a single registered African-American voter.”

Posted by Free
3 Comments
6 Ratings
ShareThis
User Comments
Posted 372 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
IS THERE IS A POLL QUESTION HERE OR IS THIS JUST ANOTHER EMPTY HIT PIECE? I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT REPRESENTATIVE BROUN WAS 'TAUGHT' ANY HUMILITY BY THE LIKES OF A JOHN LEWIS. VOTER ID LAWS ARE JUST A METHOD OF REDUCING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOTER FRAUD BY DEMOCRAT STRATEGISTS AND PARTY BOSSES. THE ARTICLE AND MR. LEWIS ALSO FAIL TO MENTION THAT THE VOTING RIGHT ABUSES WERE THE METHOD BY WHICH THE SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT PARTY KEPT BLACKS FROM VOTING. ALWAYS A CONVENIENT OMISSION BY THE DEMOCRAT STRATEGISTS WHO LOVE TO KEEP THE RACE WARFARE STIRRED UP.
Posted 371 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
Polls have a question with choices to allow expression of ideas.

Rants have no questions & do not allow an expression of ideas.

America has changed and the Democrats need a new song.
Posted 371 days ago
0 up votes, 0 down votes
LOL It just states a fact without a poll.... James is MAD!
You will have 2 minutes to edit your comment.

Add your comments