Political Quotes

“while young Americans die abroad in the name of democracy, some in this Congress scheme to undermine democracy at home by not renewing key provisions in the Voting Rights Act. They even seek a voter literacy test. Blind to abuses here, one Congressman recently declared that ``I don't think we have racial bias in Texas anymore.'' This shows not only insensitivity and indifference, it shows why we need to renew completely, without weakening amendments, the Voting Rights Act. President Lyndon B. Johnson had the will and the courage to secure passage of this fundamental guarantee even though he understood the price that he and the Democratic Party would pay. Now it is not only the law but the Administration's will to enforce that law that is at stake. Overruling professionals at the U.S. Department of Justice, political appointees disregarded obvious Voting Rights Act violations in both the DeLay gerrymandering of Texas and the Georgia voter identification law. The professional employees were vindicated by the courts, but a third of the lawyers in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division have left. Renewing democracy abroad begins with renewing democracy at home. The Washington Post published a series of articles that document the politicization of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice under the Bush Administration: November 27, 2005, December 2, 2005, December 10, 2005, and January 23, 2006. [From the Washington Post, Dec.…”