| A Historic Supreme Court |
Alas, conservative America reaps the fruit of carefully crafted and strategically positioned SCOTUS. Since the reign of Ronald Reagan and “The First” Bush George Herbert Walker Bush) the US SCOTUS has evolved from a pre-Reagan high court which handed down rulings benefiting a Judicial Branch of a once great nation to a judicial activist wing of right-wing social movement. The GOP gas boldly practiced overt restriction of voting blocs from the beginning of President Obama’s announcement of a run for a second term. Factually speaking, a form of suppression in the 2000 “selection” of G.W. Bush over Al Gore lead to possible suppression of over 10,000 votes. Follow me a moment.
A voting administration contractor in the state of (get this) Texas wrongly classified over 10,000 people with non-felony convictions as ineligible to vote. Bush received the benefit of a (Pontius Pilat) SCOTUS which refused to order a vote recount in an presidential election decided by just over 500 votes. (We all know how that all ended in 2007/08/09.)
The essence of the story? The GOP learned in 2000 the power of “vote deprivation” against potential voters who generally vote against the party. No, the Jim Crowe voter prohibitions and strife against a people who sought to exercise an American “right” may be less prevalent in a specific county in a (southern) state, but the greater impact will be disparate against African-Americans and Latinos.
Many manifestations of voter suppression exemplified by audio and video evidence of intentions to suppress votes stand as reminders of a political strategy. Even Mitt Romney was caught on audio coercing executives and managers to influence their employees to vote against Obama with false claims of high job losses. How do managers influence employees to vote for one candidate ever another? Threats of job counts including lay-offs will influence votes.
From top to bottom the GOP is about depriving voting rights. While the The Roberts Court etched its place in US History, we are left with a bold lie about how the Alabama decision was not taken lightly. We at the TPI would rather have a thumbed nose or middle finger salute than have the conservative wing of the SCOTUS ‘play’ us as of we are viewers of Fox News! Do the five conservative men actually think intelligent people (Right or Left) believe Scalia, his minion Thomas, (Citizens United) Alito, Kennedy and Roberts weren’t frothing at mouth to get their conservatism judicially exercised in Alabama?
USA Today Jun 25, 2013 (This is a must read USA Today piece)
The Roberts Court v. the Constitution: Column
The Supreme Court’s decision in “Shelby County v. Holder” abandons constitutional protection of the right to vote.(Photo: Library of Congress)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The Voting Rights Act decision fails to explain what makes law’s core provision unconstitutional.
Chief Justice Roberts avoided the part of the Constitution that’s most applicable: the 15th Amendment.
The Shelby County case is an abandonment of the Constitution’s protection of the right to vote.
Excerpt
The most basic requirement of any Supreme Court decision involving the application of the Constitution is to explain how the Constitution’s text and meaning command the result the Court reaches. By that standard, today’s 5-4 opinion in Shelby County v. Holder is a colossal failure. In the majority opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court struck down a core provision of the Voting Rights Act – a statute that has ensured protection of the right to vote for millions of Americans – without ever explaining what provision of the Constitution rendered this iconic, landmark statute unconstitutional.
Not only that, but Chief Justice Roberts also studiously avoided the part of the Constitution most directly applicable. The Roberts opinion flouted the text and history of the Fifteenth Amendment, which expressly give to Congress broad powers to prevent and deter all forms of racial discrimination in voting.
Read more (linked above)
Huffington Post
Huffington Post
President Obama’s reaction to the landmark decision:
“I am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision today. For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act – enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in Congress – has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans. Today’s decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent…..”
As a nation, we’ve made a great deal of progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote. But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists. And while today’s decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of our efforts to end voting discrimination. I am calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls. My Administration will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a fair and equal voting process. with the Supreme Court’s decision today. For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act – enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in Congress – has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans. Today’s decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent.
As a nation, we’ve made a great deal of progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote. But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists. And while today’s decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of our efforts to end voting discrimination. I am calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls. My Administration will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a fair and equal voting process.
The TPI will of course follow this historic SCOTUS decision and reaction going forward.
The Pardu's Scroll 