So this was the choice line today for me:
"Republicans in Texas recognize that they get elected on Anglo votes, a few Hispanic votes, and almost no black votes." Cal Jillson said, political scientist at Southern Methodist University.
This is from today's Houston Chronicle, or the Houston Pravda as it is known down here, concerning the Voting Rights Act. I got my free copy at Wal-Mart, which I hadn't visited in a few years. Here are my reflections on my Wal-Mart in rural Texas, with more on the Voting Rights Antics on the flip.
Wall-to-Wall Mart in Rural Texas:
What is socially acceptable to wear to Wal-Mart
has dramatically dropped since I passed this way last.
No point in sparing you, no shoes of course
toe nails clacking on the linoleum floor
pajama evening gowns adorned with bells and ribbons and sewn on teddy bears
babies in only diapers covered in sticky
handling fruit in the produce
300 lb women in cut off denim hot pants that fail to reach the knees
Complimented with a halter-top, straining not to break free
half lit Marlboro Reds hanging from dried out grandma lips
dreamscapes of petro flares lighting nightmares of post-chemical isolation
the men are missing or broken, all causalities in the war for main street
Texas Reaches Sublime on Voting Rights Act
Back in the day the South use to use the filibuster to stop any Civil Rights Act, including voting acts from ever reaching the floor the Senate. The South was lead by the parliamentary master, Sen. Russell of Georgia, with Sen. Johnson as the strong arm. Together they kept the franchise promised to all citizens from reaching those who needed it the most. For those who think LBJ had always been pro-Civil Rights, I suggest you read his "We, of the South" speech.
It was not until he realized he had to get northern liberals on his side for his ultimate dream of being President did he help maneuver through the halls of the Senate the Civil Rights Act of 1957. As toothless as it was, it was not only the first Civil Rights legislation to be passed in a generation; it was also the first to even reach the floor for a vote.
LBJ, of course, would later go on to hammer through several other major civil rights acts, which includes the one currently in question, the Voting Rights Act of 1967, set to expire this year. At issue is the concept of "preclearance", which requires states with questionable voting rights histories to first square away any changes to voting standards, practices or procedures with the Justice Department or federal court.
The current roster of states is: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and for some reason Alaska. If someone can tell me why Alaska is grouped in here, I'd love to know. Might be a language on the ballot issue, not sure.
Now being Texas, we couldn't gum this process up without a punch line, so here we go. It was Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, Texas, who introduced the amendment to offer relief to these 9 states, or apply it to all the states in the union. Now, Rep. Gohmert is now in a safe seat due to the gerrymandering of Tom DeLay, who's congressional district map is now in court for violating the Voting Rights Act! So he is introducing an amendment to ensure he, and other Texas Republicans, can continue to violate the very law he is amending. Rim shot!
Obviously with Tom DeLay's antics, we have not yet earned the right to get off that list. And by offering an amendment from a Representative who was put in power by DeLay's unconstitutional map is approaching the sublime. But I would like to thank Rep. Gohmert, he won me a bet I made with a civil rights leader back in January that this House would not renew the Voting Act on the first try.
He thought I was crazy, but being a Texan, I reminded him today, I am crazy like a fox.
Now the real question here today is how come the Black Caucus is not hallowing into the wind like they did for Jefferson, or why the DLC has once again let a key issue slip through their ever-incompetent fingers? They should be stringing this Republicans up with Civil Rights ropes for all the country to see.
God Bless Texas for getting this passed the first time, and the Devil's Shame on Texas for stopping its renewal.
Peace.