In a year in which almost nothing of any substance is passing Congress, renewing the Voting Rights Act was supposed to be an easy one for the GOP. Especially in light of the controversies surrounding voting problems, which in some instances may have racially motivated, protecting the rights of minorities to vote was a no-brainer.
Or at least it was supposed to be. The LA Times had a terrific item today on the surprising opposition from mostly-southern conservatives, all of whom are white, who are contesting renewal of the Voting Rights Act and dividing the party.
On Tuesday, Republican leaders were waging a fierce, behind-the-scenes fight to persuade recalcitrant conservatives that backing the act would benefit the party. But the conservatives weren’t buying the argument, pressing their belief that Congress should change sections that impose federal oversight of states with histories of institutional racism and those that require bilingual ballots.
A two-hour meeting among House leaders, GOP strategists and the law’s critics failed to resolve the disagreement, leading some to question whether the House would go ahead with its Thursday vote.
A postponement would be the second time within a month that the vote had been delayed — a move that would heighten the White House’s embarrassment and intensify its need for damage control within minority communities.
At this point, there’s a core group of about 80 conservative lawmakers, many of whom are targeting a provision in the bill that requires bilingual ballots in districts where some voters speak limited English. But the real sticking point is a measure that requires the Justice Department to screen state and local voting-related decisions in areas that have had racially-motivated voting problems in the past. They are, as the LAT noted, areas that “were notorious for institutionalized acts of racism, such as adopting laws designed to prevent blacks from voting.”
Southern Republicans believe these problems are ancient history. Hearing them explain why is almost amusing.
“Do you think we treat Japan or Germany differently [because of World War II]?” asked Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia. “Do we treat the British any differently because of the Stamp Act? … If we’re going to do that, then let’s go back to the Indians and say they butchered Custer.
It’s a telling reaction. As far as Westmoreland and his colleagues believe, racially-motivated interference with the right to vote is so far in the past, it doesn’t even make sense to worry about it. They see a color-blind south where minority voting rights are fully protected.
They’re wrong. In fact, Westmoreland’s Georgia is one of the worst states in the nation for Voting Rights Act violations. The problems aren’t just a scar on previous generations; they’re still ongoing.
Politically, the timing for the Republican Party couldn’t be worse. The NAACP is meeting in DC this weekend, and Bush has been considering whether to make his first-ever appearance before the group as president. The LAT reported that if congressional Republicans successfully block the VRA this week, it “could spoil Bush’s ability to cite renewal of the Voting Rights Act as proof that minorities can trust Republicans.”
There’s going to be plenty of arm-twisting behind the scenes, but we’ll almost certainly see a vote on the House floor by Friday. Asked how he’d feel if his objections ended up killing the Voting Right Act altogether, Rep. Westmoreland said, “I’d feel fine.”
And the GOP’s minority-outreach efforts suffer yet another setback…