Many thousands, perhaps even more than a million people were removed from voter roles, had their registration revoked, or otherwise were prevented from voting in the last election. That and ownership of he mainstream media by powerful interests contributed to a big, and I mean big, advantage to Romney and other republicans.
But Obama won. The Senate still contains a Democratic majority. And here is where we progressives get it wrong: Many of us repeat the mantra: Voter suppression failed.
It didn't.
I have wondered how much greater would have been the Obama victory had so many voters not been suppressed? I have wondered if we would not have had more victories in the Senate. Even with gerrymandering, could it have been possible to defeat at least a few of the Congressional Republicans who won by smaller margins?
I suggest we stop saying that voter suppression efforts failed. I think doing so lulls us into a sense of security in which the next election can be stolen this way.