The same week that George W. Bush passed the bill reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act, the Boston Globe documented how little this administration actually cares about the principles enshrined in the historic legislation.
Passed in 1965, the Voting Rights Act outlawed discrimination in voting on the basis of race. Signing the bill reauthorizing the act for another 25 years is no brave act for the president. Both chambers of Congress passed it, after all, and it's not particularly controversial. What would be controversial if it were well-publicized is the Bush administration's deliberate evisceration of the government office responsible for enforcing the Voting Rights Act: the Justice Department's civil rights division.
Earlier this week, the Boston Globe reported on the findings of its investigation revealing that under President Bush, the civil rights division of DOJ has radically reinvented its mandate. Breaking with long-standing precedent, the Bush administration has packed the division with political appointees who have no background in civil rights law. It has ignored cases involving voting disenfranchisement in order to pursue cases of alleged discrimination against whites and Christians. From Charlie Savage's report in the Globe :
At the same time, the kinds of cases the Civil Rights Division is bringing have undergone a shift. The division is bringing fewer voting rights and employment cases involving systematic discrimination against African-Americans, and more alleging reverse discrimination against whites and religious discrimination against Christians.
"There has been a sea change in the types of cases brought by the division, and that is not likely to change in a new administration because they are hiring people who don't have an expressed interest in traditional civil rights enforcement," said Richard Ugelow, a 29-year career veteran who left the division in 2002.
Yesterday's signing of the Voting Rights Act renewal brought calls from civil rights advocates for enforcement of the act's provisions. Ralph Neas of People For the American Way issued the following statement:
President Bush must make a moral and legal commitment to the civil rights leaders gathered for the signing that he is interested in more than an election year photo-op. He owes it to all Americans to ensure that the Voting Rights Act is enforced.
Unfortunately, that is not the record of this administration—by a long shot. His administration’s well-documented and unprecedented politicization of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has dramatically undermined voting rights enforcement. The administration has turned a blind eye to voter suppression tactics moving in states across the country—photo identification provisions, citizenship requirements, and provisional ballots. Voter suppression and intimidation continue to be a problem and continue to disenfranchise voters. But the Bush administration still pretends that discrimination is not a major issue for millions of Americans.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., echoed Neas and added another issue which should be used to test Bush's commitment to voting rights for all:
The second issue is whether the conservatives Bush has appointed to the federal courts will interpret it in a way that allows precedent regarding the Voting Rights Act to stand.
With states like Georgia passing laws that erect barriers to voting, the Bush administration will have plenty of opportunities to prove it wants to expand access to voting, not restrict it. And watchdogs will have plenty of opportunities to hold Bush's feet to the fire on enforcing the Voting Rights Act. Because, as Neas put it:
A right without a remedy is like a bell without a clapper—hollow and empty.
--Alexandra Walker |
Friday, July 28, 2006 10:49 AM
