MUST READ: Don't Dismantle the Voting Rights Act
July 7, 2006
An op-ed in today's New York Times by the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson's daughters says that Congressional Republicans are disabling the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by allowing critical voting safeguards to expire such as Section 5 that protects voters in areas with histories of discrimination and Section 203 which requires language assistance to promote voting by citizens with limited English proficiency. Just as President Johnson stood up to members of his own party to pass the VRA, it's time for Republican leaders to stand up to the right-wing extremists in their party to protect the Constitutional right to vote for every American.
Below are excerpts from the New York Times editorial:
Don't Dismantle the Voting Rights Act
By Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb
The New York Times
July 7, 2006
"The Voting Rights Act, signed into law on Aug. 6, 1965, by our father, President Lyndon Johnson, opened the political process to millions of Americans... Now, crucial provisions of this legislation are in jeopardy. Last month, Congress seemed set to renew expiring sections intended to prevent voter discrimination based on race or language proficiency. Instead, a group of House lawmakers opposed to those sections succeeded in derailing their consideration.
"...No one disputes that our nation has come a long way since the Voting Rights Act was first signed into law. But while it would be nice to think we don't need this legislation anymore, we do. We still struggle with the legacy of institutionalized racism. If either of the act's two sections under attack is weakened or allowed to expire, the door will be opened to a new round of discriminatory practices.
"...The reauthorization stalled in Congress is called the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. Were he alive today, we believe President Johnson would be honored to have this bill named after such remarkable women. Its passage would be a fitting tribute to their collective efforts to expand the scope of civil rights and citizenship. In his own era, our father faced powerful opposition to the Voting Rights Act, including from members of his own party. Nonetheless, he pushed forward with the legislation because he knew it was desperately needed. It was the right thing to do then. It still is."
To read the entire New York Times Op-Ed, please click here.
