We can all agree that the truce that Obama and HRC entered into yesterday was a good thing. We can all agree that, as KO noted last night, the fractiousness of the Dem nomination contest has gotten a little out of hand of late. We should also, however, agree that all candidates should oppose the suit that has been filed in NV objecting to the establishment of caucus precincts on the Las Vegas Strip.
Today, of course, is MLK's b-day. One of MLK's greatest causes was, of course, the expansion of the franchise to all of this nation's citizens. In a 1965 speech entitled "Civil Right No. 1: The Right to Vote," King stated:
When the full power of the ballot is available to my people, it will not be exercised merely to advance our cause alone. We have learned in the course of our freedom struggle that the needs of 20 million Negroes are not truly seperable from those of the nearly 200 million whites and Negroes in America, all of whom will benefit from a color-blind land of plenty that provides for the nourishment of each man's mind, body, and spirit. Our vote would place in Congress true representatives of the people who would legislate for the Medicare, housing, jobs, and schools required by all men of any color.
Sadly, that dream of Dr. King's, like so many of his other dreams, has yet to be realized. In fact, that dream is more distant now than it was 7 years ago. As Adam Cohen notes in today's NYT, B v. G started a dangerous trend in which the SCOTUS has visibly shifted away from its former orientation towards the expansion of the franchise. In that case, and in subsequent cases, the Supremes seemed to be oriented towards limiting voting rights.
Cohen raised one point in his piece that particularly affected me when he noted former Justice O'Connor's open disdain for Palm Beach County voters who were confused by the 2000 "butterfly ballot." My parents live in Boca Raton, and my mother, who's a few years younger than O'C, was confused by that ballot. O'Connor's comments, and her ultimate joinder in the utterly absurd B v. G decision, showed a contempt for the democratic process.
Since (as HRC recently noted) LBJ followed MLK's approach and rammed the Voting Rights Act through strong Congressional opposition*, the Dems have been the party that sought to expand the franchise. Recent developments show that this issue is just as critical now as it was in 1965. Between Cruella's FL 2000 pre-election purge, the NH robo-calls in 2002, Blackwell's machinations in OH in 2004, and DeLay's TX gerrymandering, it is clear that the GOP has chosen, as a conscious strategy, to restrict the franchise.
To make matters worse, we now have a Chief and at least 3 other justices whose views are consistent w/ those of Cruella, Blackwell, and DeLay. As Cohen's piece notes, Roberts's comments during oral argument in the IN voter ID case showed a basic indifference towards barriers to voting. This Chief's views on this issue are, sadly, consistent w/ those of his predecessor.
In this context, the already unacceptable challenge to the NV caucus system that was established w/o opposition 10 months ago becomes utterly reprehensible. Consistent w/ the party's best traditions, NV Dems established a mechanism to make it easier for working people to participate in the process. The 11th hour attempt to overturn that mechanism is clearly in the spirit of Cruella, Blackwell, and others cited above.
While the Clinton campaign did not initiate this suit, there is evidence that it was initiated by her supporters, and she has, thus far, refused to disavow it. Obama should, accordingly, ask her to publicly disavow the suit tonight. There is no better way to honor MLK's memory today than for all Dems to make it clear that attempts to restrict the franchise will not be supported.
While I really don't care at this point what Bob Johnson, Jesse Jackson Jr, or any other supporter of any candidate said or didn't say about another candidate, I care a great deal about enforcing Civil Right No. 1. Tonight is a night in which all Dem candidates must reiterate their support for that right as well.
*I stipulate that both MLK and LBJ were essential to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.