This Week in Equality – The Right Wept.
This was a huge week for America. The reaction of the Right Wing has been curious to me. I wonder if we aren’t watching the suicide of a political party.
The Supreme Court agreed there is discrimination against certain citizens who want to vote, but a slim majority of justices were okay with that. Seriously? Yes. Not a shocker. With few exceptions, the Roberts Court has been a recurring disaster for everyone except the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I guess Republican senators felt better about approving a path to citizenship for undocumented people — now that it will be easier to suppress their votes.
The writing was on the wall when Justice (term used loosely) Antonin Scalia called the Voting Rights Act a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” The prevention of racial discrimination is a “racial entitlement?”
All Alaskans should be worried that our First Alaskan brothers and sisters won’t have equal representation under our gerrymandering state redistricting board, but because the Parnell/Treadwell administration sided with Shelby, Ala., in the Supreme Court case, we’re kind of out of luck on that one.
The Not-So-Supreme Court then decided gay people in California could marry. They punted on the rest of the states, but California’s ban on same sex marriage won’t stand. Reactionary talking head Mike Huckabee responded with, “Jesus wept,” (John 11:35).
Seriously?
Jesus wept because his friend, the brother of Mary and Martha, had died. He did not weep because Lazarus was gay. Oh, and Mike Huckabee, who couldn’t pray away the gluttony, had Lap-Band surgery instead of putting a knife to his throat to subdue his appetite — as Proverbs 23:2 instructs.
I really have to wonder if the man has ever read the book he seems so ready to use as a bludgeon.
Meanwhile, Texas produced a (s)hero for many of us. State Sen. Wendy Davis filibustered during a special session in which majority Republicans tried to shut down Texas women’s access to reproductive health care. She stood for more than 11 hours, without bathroom breaks or food, to protect the right of women to determine their own fates. She was called a terrorist by a state representative who thought the education level of women getting abortions should be tracked by the state.
I have a better idea: track the IQs of the men who impregnated them. And while you’re at it, track the SAT scores of men filling Viagra prescriptions. After all, erections have consequences.
The Texas Senate tampered with the clock, trying to make its illegitimate vote appear otherwise. The cheating was caught – so Gov. Rick Perry scheduled another not-so-special session. Referring to public protests against the bill, the governor said, “The louder they scream, the more we know we are getting something done.”
Perry went on to talk about Sen. Davis at the National Right to Life convention: “Even the woman who filibustered the Senate the other day was born into difficult circumstances. She was the daughter of a single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas Senate.” Good thing she wasn’t aborted, he added.
So, a woman who chose to have a child when she was a teenager believes in choice? Imagine that.
Gov. Perry then signed the death warrant for the 500th person to be killed by the state of Texas – missing the irony of ending life at 134 trimesters.
The Republican Party is being gutted by a Faustian bargain it made three decades ago. The right wing ideologues who make up the American version of the Taliban are driving the GOP away from the pragmatic, sensible center of the country. Maybe I should nominate Rick Perry for feminist of the year instead of complaining about him. His words and deeds are helping wake up women, as well as men who love them and consider them human beings capable of making their own choices.
Contrary to the Taliban view, children aren’t a punishment to be imposed on loose women. We need government background checks and safety locks on guns, not uteruses.
Voting shouldn’t be something that non-white Americans — you know, the entitled ones — have to struggle for. And despite the end-of-the-world hysterics of some, it’s only a matter of time before “gay marriage” becomes “marriage.” Which is the way it should be.
If the Republican Party keeps aligning itself with these radicals, and fighting a losing battle to perpetuate discrimination against everyone but them, it will become extinct.
So Gov. Perry, keep it up.
I think that a lot of commenters, and the author don’t properly recognize the complexity of this situation. First, there is this. The rural native population has an outsized influence on politics in Alaska, while the urban native population is largely marginalized. Yet the legislation in question results in us granting a rural political advantage, and totally shuts out the urban population most in need of empowerment.
Second, the whole logic has created a situation where highly irrational voting districts are drawn in a blatant attempt to make sure that enough representatives from rural Alaska are elected. That is fine as far as it would go, except that we end up with these situations where a relatively urban area such as Goldstream Valley shares representation with villages. That results in horrible representation for half the district.
From a practical perspective, the voters rights act is both ineffective and anti-democratic. It creates significant distortion to the concept of local representation. I certainly understand why people support the law, but it bothers me that so many liberals fail to understand the aspects of the law that are problematic and troubling.
In other words, not everybody who disagrees with you is a racist.
Ah, but throwing out that part of the VRA is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater, DanInAnc.
Since representation in AK is, admittedly, so darned complicated, and so ‘skewed’ at the moment as a result of that ‘complicated’ mish-mash, there needs to be a fair and equitable solution thoughtfully devised and [have] *that* be submitted for approval/go-ahead by the DoJ. *That* was what the thrown-out part of VRA was intended to do; make it fair and equitable for ALL by creating a platform that ensured that fairness and equality was the uncompromising rule and not the privileged exception.
As it is, without all the VRA in place, any State can do whatever the hell they please re: voting and whatnot, and no one can do anything about it…no challenge allowed. Yea! Finally! We can do what we want and no one is going to stop us — certainly not the Feds! Yahoo!…
Which is all fine and dandy for the IMMEDIATE, but what happens 3, 10-years down the line when it suddenly dawns on people that THEIR rights are now being trampled on? Ooops, so sorry Charlie, there’s nothing you can do about it…no challenge allowed – isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t that what you were so elated about? .
Folks who are overjoyed and applauding (and defending!) that the SCOTUS struck down that provision are truly so incredibly shortsighted that it’s a wonder when they get up in the morning, they’re even able to think ahead to what they’ll do the rest of the day. Don’t tell me you’re like that, too, DanInAnc. beth.
” The rural native population has an outsized influence on politics in Alaska, while the urban native population is largely marginalized. Yet the legislation in question results in us granting a rural political advantage, and totally shuts out the urban population most in need of empowerment”
——————————
Back this argument up. Truly back it up.
There are so many things wrong with this .
I want to know what you base it on.
no answer?
Read this :
http://courts.alaska.gov/media/s-14441-amicus-ahtna.pdf
and when you’re done – Read this. This was filed by Alaska Native tribes, organizations, etc in response to our Gov’s horsepunky filing.
Summary of Argument
Amici submit this brief for two reasons: (1) tocorrect Petitioner’s misrepresentations about Alaska
in support of its argument that the coverage formula
is inappropriate, and (2) to respond to Alaska’s ami-cus brief that falsely claims
it has no history of voting
discrimination and thus Section 5 is not a congruent
and proportional response. Indeed, even the Court of
Appeals seemed unaware of Alaska’s substantial
record of discrimination. Thus, Amici—who are or
have been parties in voting rights cases against the
State of Alaska—correct the record here. The unvar-nished truth is that Alaska is a textbook case for why
the coverage formula remains valid and Section 5 remains a necessary response to widespread educational and voting discrimination against Alaska Native citizens.
Amici make five points. First, a facial challengeto Section 4(b) is contrary to the longstanding princi-
ple of judicial restraint. Such a challenge is also inappropriate in light of this Court’s recent holding
inNorthwest Austin Mun.Util. Dist. No. One(NAMUDNO) v. Holder,
557 U.S. 193, 203 (2009),
that Section 4(b) must be assessed with reference to a
covered jurisdiction’s own unique record of discrimi-nation
Second, Alaska was not accidentally “swept in” to
Section 5 but became covered because of its long
history of educational discrimination, resulting in a
legacy in which thousands of Alaska Natives cannot
understand college-level English used on ballots and
voting information. The gulf between statewide
turnout and Native turnout has barely narrowed
since 1975, largely because of Alaska’s violations of
the VRA. Today, seven years after reauthorization,
Alaska Native turnout is 17 percent below the
statewide average, and some
places with a higher Limited English Proficiency (“LEP”) population are
more than 30 percent below.
Third, during reauthorization Congress had
substantial evidence offirst generationbarriers to
voting in Alaska, many of which persist today. Thus it
is not accurate to assert, as Petitioner does, that
Congress based its decision solely on second genera-
tion barriers. Indeed, most evidence about Alaska in
the record demonstrated that it never complied with
the mandates of the VRA, Section 203 in particular.
Fourth, although there are few objections and
More Information Requests (MIRs) in Alaska’s record,
they have been critical in preventing retrogression
and voter disenfranchisement. Therefore, Section 5
remains critically important to prevent voting dis-
crimination against Alaska Natives.
Finally, Alaska’s amicus brief focuses on the
bailout standard, which it calls “a mirage.” Bailout
may be a mirage for Alaska, not because the standard
is too high, but because Alaska’s discrimination is
unrelenting. Violations are often ignored for years, or
even decades in the case of Section 203. The broad-
ened bailout standard adopted by this Court in
NAMUDNO
properly limits 4(b) coverage to jurisdic-
tions that truly deserve it—jurisdictions like Alaska.
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/admin/voting_rights/documents/files/12-96-bsac-Alaska-Federation-of-Natives-et-al.pdf
And Pfffftttt!
Go after the redistricting board. They made a hash of plenty of things which CANNOT be blamed on VRA. The first citation I made expresses some of that from Native perspective.
The STATE and it’s board are the problems here- not the VRA, so please don’t insult others by saying they don’t understand the complexity of the situation- you don’t seem to either.
Happy 4th of July- the day we celebrate whatever it is we celebrate which means something to us about our political formation as a country.
I’m celebrating that some of us know we have a lot of work left to do to bring all Americans to the table in true parity… screw the Roberts VRA decision and its the-world-has-changed horsepunky. We have FIRST GENERATION failures to protect minority voters in place here and he waves his lil hand and says no?That was 12 steps back. Period.
Game,set and match to Beth and Pi. Yaaaayyyyy!!!! Rilly good show,what.
I chuckled when I read that if women took up arms to defend our health care rights, weapons would be banned tomorrow.
We don’t need to take up arms; We need to invoke Lysistrata.
Legend has it(and I have it on good authority) that Snow White withheld her favors and six of her compadres got Grumpy.
http://tinyurl.com/lop6nmn
They are out there still. This time,religious school officials have kicked a 12 year old girl off the football team(after the season ended) because they feared she would incite lust and impure thoughts in 12 year old boys. It never ends with these ……..uh…….people? does it?
NARAL-Pro Choice America is giving away “I Stand With Wendy” bumperstickers. Get yours here:
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/donate/stand-with-wendy-sticker.html
I’m getting one, and I don’t have a car. I don’t even drive.
Great article, Shannyn. Updates on the “special” session in Austin: http://juanitajean.com/
And here’s Kirk Watson, head of the Democratic caucus in TX, giving his viewpoint:
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/01/guest-column-protest-caused-unruly-bunch-control/
Rethuglicans are rilly funny…..no they are absolutely hilarious goofballs. They alienate and degrade women every chance they get and pretty soon the only people who will tolerate them is other white men. OMG that means rethuglicans will become…..wait for it….”that way.”
EEEEEEWWWWWWWWUUUUUUUUU!!!! McCain and McConnell ……EEEEEWWWWWWUUUUU!!!!!
I need knee surgery. Would someone give me Rick Perry’s phone number. Because he seems to think that I am unable to make medical decisions witout his advce.
WITHOUT!
oh,c’mon fishingmama… live on the edge a little bit,,, and just go for it without asking permission!!!
Here you go,fishingmamma-http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/ Use this website and choose option 2-I need assistance. If they don’t help you,use option 1 and leave your opinion of Perry.. If you prefer to call,the number for out of state callers is (512)-463-1782. In state callers gat an 800 toll free number. Send a letter to P O Box 12428, Austin,Texas 78711-2428. Want to send a delivery the address is 1100 San Jacinto,Austin,Texas 78711. Good luck with that knee.
You don’t need knee surgery.
Cutting taxes on the richest one percent of Americans will take care of it!
There, solved that problem.
Minorities are not going to go away, Women are DEFINITELY not going away, LGBT is not going away, and with the internet, information and the truth are not going away… these issues probably won’t progress as fast as we’d like to see, but it WILL happen… ( they can’t live forever, and the younger Republicans are not in step with the older ones…
Thank you ben!
Deep breath… exhale…
We’ll get there.
I hope some of it happens before I die.
I worry about the world we’re handing my grands … a lot.
The kids of this generation are a force to be reckoned with I think…they have been participating in society “driving drunk” while they are a passenger…when they get to the drivers seat? watch out!
I think they will take the wheel, relieve the drivers of their “duties” and proceed to fix the roads of our government and agencies…they are talkers…meaning they want to “discuss in detail” what the plan is before proceeding with it…I noticed kids are more alert and techno savvy so that will help society…
They have seen the effects of war and see the wounded almost daily to remind them to “talk about it”..
Newt Gingrich was overheard asking, “What is the point of going to all that trouble of having affairs if they are going to demean the sanctimony if holy matrimony by letting people who love each other get married?”
More discrimination-http://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/texas-filibuster-rules/
http://tinyurl.com/khrb6bk
If you can’t stand up you can’t filibuster in Texas.
Well, that rules out legislators like Tammy Duckworth, doesn’t it? And our local Independent rep…he’s wheelchair bound. And Max Cleland, GA-D, triple amputee left with one arm –his left one– after Vietnam and also wheelchair bound. (And no one should EVER forgive the unbelievable slimy, underhanded, crap Saxby pulled to oust him from the senate seat…OR those who voted for him!)
Seems to me folks, R-type folks, are so busy sticking their noses into the uteri of the nation, keeping a significant segment of our society ‘lawfully’ unequal, and ensuring that the ‘they’ and ‘other’ amongst the lily-white are effectively silenced at the ballot box, that they can’t be bothered with little ‘technical details’ of lawmaking like, oh, I don’t know, the mandates resulting from the ADA.
‘course they don’t agree with the ADA in the first place (dang those expensive, totally unnecessary, and job-killing regulations!), so why would they even think to make sure any law they passed was in compliance? Gotta hand it to ’em… when the Rs start going full-bore-rwnj crazy, they go full-throttle, ahead! Rick Perry must be SO proud. beth.
Spot on as usual,Ms Moore. The extreme right pays lip service to women and minorities and then prove they speak with forked tongues by their actions. Kinder and gentler towards Hispanics? According to rethugs in congress,they are going to re-write the agreed upon Senate Immigration bill. They want women’s votes and then Perry patronixes Senator Davis and slaps all women in the face with another special session called to pass Texas’ restrictive anti-abortion bill. On a truly strange side note-Justice Kagan has been a regular hunting companion of Scalia’s. Apparently Cheney’s heart won’t let him pal around with Scalia anymore. Truth rilly is stranger than fiction. As always keep up your good writing and let the chips fall where they may.