Ari Melber questions Wisconsin Representative Jim Sensenbrenner’s request of AG Holder to suspend Section 2 (which was uncontested) of the VRA before moving forward on repairing the gutting of section 4 by the Roberts court.
Sensenbrenner was a driving force seven years ago in getting the VRA reauthorized.
Yet recently this is the situation.
Sensenbrenner (as reported by Ari Berman & The Hill):
“I regret that the Department of Justice announced its intent to file a lawsuit against Texas’ Voter ID law citing Section 2 to the Voting Rights Act," said Sensenbrenner in a statement. "Voter ID laws are an essential element in protecting the integrity of our electoral process and do not have a discriminatory intent or effect.
“I spoke with attorney general Holder today and requested that he withdraw his Section 2 lawsuit [Texas] until there can be a legislative fix of the VRA.
The law suit would make it much more difficult to pass a bipartisan fix to restore the heart of the VRA”
Sensenbrenner’s statement @ minute 3:00
(short ad – sorry)
The
story and
transcript @ link
So now Sensenbrenner is requesting that AG Holder let Texas republicans off the hook or else it will: “ make it much more difficult to pass a bipartisan fix”, a move that AG Holder is extremely unlikely to make, and should not make.
This sounds more like a threat, typical of the tactics we’ve come to expect of the GOP.
This, as Ari Melber points out, is backwards. Canceling out an uncontested part of the VRA that is currently working to limit Texas’ on-going voter suppression and/or disenfranchisement in order to move forward on repairing it?
To help secure bipartisan support. Not as blatant as other GOP hostage taking but still..
This “request” sounds more like a warning meant to preclude AG Holder from challenging North Carolina and other republican legislatures guilty of what is clearly an ongoing nationwide assault on voters rights – Dem voters that is
If so, I call bullshit on that. And I hope Dems do too - out loud.
Texas republicans richly deserve to be sued as does North Carolina and any other republican controlled legislatures pulling this crap. And there are many.
Maybe I’m missing something here, if so it isn’t clear to me what that is and hope to be corrected if I am.
Also too: I haven't heard much and wanted to make some noise on this
mini-rant over
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone ..♪♫♪.. :)