Jim Crow laws followed the Civil War as the South — and many northern states as well — resisted the granted of full civil equality to the newly freed slave population.
It took a century and massive public agitation for the courts to reverse the legislation.
But the Republican Party, once the champion of equality, has assumed the role one played by the Democrats, actively working to enact a legislative platform designed specifically to repress the rights of African Americans, immigrants of color, and the poor.
The war on equality takes several fronts, ranging from the overt to the subtle. Consider criminal courts, where defendants of color are sentenced more harshly than, well, pale people. And, indeed, behaviors which are necessities or simple refuges for the poor are those most likely to be criminalized, including loitering and public intoxication, both consequences of homelessness.
The latest assault targets voting, that most fundamental of civil rights. What follows is a compendium of accounts indicative of the nature of the beast.
A rally against Jim Crow’s return
Where better to begin than with a statement of what makes the Republicans so nervous.
From Yolanda Putman of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press:
Stricter voter identification laws threaten to take away rights that past generations fought for, pastors told about 500 people Saturday at a march and rally to push voter registration and participation.
Black and poor people are in crisis and must use their voting rights for change – to improve education, stop violence and bring equality to all people, said the Rev. Kenneth Love, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.
“We are in emergency mode. The alarm is sounding, and it’s time for us to respond,” Love said at the rally at Greater Tucker Baptist Church.
The group at the church included young and old, blacks and whites.
“It goes beyond race,” said the Rev. Kenneth Ware, pastor of New Monumental Baptist Church. “This includes all people who have been separated from the liberties granted in this country. It’s all of those who have been left out.”
About two dozen ministers and the NAACP organized the event, called the Chattanooga Voter Empowerment Movement. Other marches and voting rallies will be scheduled throughout the year leading up to the November presidential election.
And how have the Republicans responded?
Sometimes, criminally.
From Sarah Brumfield of the Associated Press:
A political aide to Maryland’s former Republican governor has been sentenced to 30 days of home detention Thursday for an Election Day robocall conspiracy that prosecutors cast as an effort to keep black voters away from the polls.
Prosecutors said the automated calls went out to 110,000 people in areas with high percentages of black voters, who tend to vote reliably Democratic. The calls implied that voters did not need to head to the polls because Democrat Martin O’Malley had already defeated Republican Robert Ehrlich.
Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill called the scheme an offense that strikes at the heart of the nation’s most important values. The judge also gave Paul Schurick a one-year suspended jail sentence and ordered him to serve 500 hours of community service in Prince George’s County and Baltimore city, where the calls were directed, over four years of his probation.
“This needs to send a message to anyone who would interfere with anyone’s opportunity to vote that it’s absolutely unacceptable,” Fletcher-Hill told Schurick.
The battle shapes up in Virginia
The primary forum for the Republican embrace of Jim Crow is legislative, and one venue is the Virginia statehouse.
From Bob Lewis of the Associated Press:
A bitter partisan dispute over Republican bills that place new burdens on voting grew more passionate Tuesday as black leaders compared the measures to Jim Crow-era voter suppression and accused the GOP of intending to “lynch democracy.”
Democrats and minorities used a rally on the Capitol lawn and debate on the House Floor to criticize the measures favored by the Legislature’s all-white GOP majority that would put more restrictions on voter registration efforts and require voters to take photo identification to the polls.
Republicans strongly disputed the notion that the bills are meant to suppress voting, saying that they are intended to cut down on fraud in a presidential election year with Virginia targeted as a battleground by both parties.
The chairwoman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus accused the GOP of voter suppression.
“We have before us in the General Assembly session an array of voter-suppression bills designed to render you voiceless in 2012, and it’s no coincidence that this is happening in 2012,” said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton.
Similar laws in South Carolina
The first shots of the Civil War were fired in the Palmetto State, so it’s no surprise that the Republican effort to disenfranchise the descendants of slaves is happening there as well.
From Corey Hutchins of the Columbia, South Carolina, Free Times:
A coalition of civil and voting rights groups angrily blasted a proposed law they accuse Republicans of fast tracking in the House to limit voter participation.
If passed, the law would mandate third-party groups that register voters — the Boy Scouts, the League of Women Voters, churches — to file with the state and incur penalties for each registration form not delivered within five days. Fines could reach $1,000.
Republicans say regulating voter drives ensures accountability in the registration process.
But Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP, called it “another sick piece of legislation to deny people their rights,” during a Feb. 8 State House news conference.
According to U.S. census data, black voters in South Carolina were roughly four times more likely to sign up to vote in 2010 via third-party voter registration drives than whites.
The Republican resurrection of racism
The effort isn’t restricted to the South. Republicans in most states with sizeable minority populations have waged similar campaigns often successfully.
While the ostensible reason is the prevention of voter fraud, that’s absurd on its face, given that the most pervasive voter fraud of modern time took place in Florida, and gave the White House to George W. Bush. In that election, Republicans fought tooth and nail to prevent a more thorough scrutiny of the vote.
No, the real reason is based on race and class.
The Republicans, save for an honest few, will never admit the racism behind their efforts. If nothing else, the tenor of the times make overt expression of racial bigotry taboo. But it’s there, and it’s real.
And as the economy worsens, as it must, we’ll see a lot more of it.
And yet those on the Right continually claim Obama is “shredding” the constitution…
The Democrat Party has always been the party of racism. Having laws in place to protect the integrity of the vote and prevent fraud is not being racist, it is being practical. The South Carolina voter ID law also requires the state to provide transportation to anyone who needs it in order to receive their government ID and if they are financially unable to pay for the ID, they would receive it for free. That sounds very reasonable to me. Anyone committing voter fraud for either side should face severe penalties including long term incarceration.
G> First, HOW has the Democratic Party been the party of racism? Please, if you would provide some support for this.
Second, yes, it is practical providing rides and help to get these voter ID’s BUT what you’re not addressing is the question of actual need. What are the instances of voter fraud in SC? I believe there was one instance of an apparent dead person who was registered but was found later to be inaccurate. It came down to spelling. The dead person had one “L” in their name and the person who was registered AND alive spelled their name with 2 L’s.
The problem is that this debunked claim keeps coming up despite its inaccuracy. So the question comes back to, “is there a real need” and the answer seems to be “no” especially when you consider all the taxpayer money required to pass the legislation, to implement it and to enforce it.
A large majority of Americans believe that there is a need for voter ID laws and want them. There are already 31 states requiring some sort of ID in order to vote, 15 of those require a photo ID. Where is the proof that these laws are disenfranchising voters?
In 2008, of the 1.3 million voter registrations that ACORN submitted, 400k were rejected by election officials. Simply Google “indicted for voter fraud” and you’ll find plenty of evidence that exists, and this will just lead you to those who were caught.
As for the Democrat Party being the party of racism… that’s too easy. It is difficult to argue with 150 years of history. You can easily research it yourself. Here is just some highlights.
Remember, the Republican Party was founded with their main platform to end slavery in the United States. The first Republican President was Abraham Lincoln.
April 16, 1862
President Lincoln signs bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia – Congress, 99% of Republicans vote yes, 83% of Democrats vote no.
13th Amendment (ended slavery) – 100% Republican support, 63% Democrat opposition in Senate.
14th Amendment (equal protection under the law for all citizens) – House vote, Republicans 100% yes, Democrats 100% no. Senate, Republicans 94% yes, Democrats 100% no.
15th Amendment (granting black men the right to vote) – House, Republicans 98% yes, Democrats 97% no.
Ku Klux Klan was the militant arm of the Democrat Party. Targeted blacks and Republicans.
June 12, 1929
First Lady Lou Hoover invites wife of U.S. Rep. Oscar De Priest (R-IL), an African-American, to tea at the White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country.
June 24, 1940
Republican Party platform calls for integration of the armed forces; for the balance of his terms in office, FDR refuses to order it
March 12, 1956
Ninety-seven Democrats in Congress condemn Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and pledge to continue segregation.
May 6, 1960
Republican President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republicans’ Civil Rights Act of 1960, overcoming 125-hour, around-the-clock filibuster by 18 Senate Democrats.
June 10, 1964
Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) criticizes Democrat filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act, calls on Democrats to stop opposing racial equality. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced and approved by a staggering majority of Republicans in the Senate. The Act was opposed by most southern Democrat senators, several of whom were proud segregationists—one of them being Al Gore Sr. Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson relied on Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, the Republican leader fromIllinois, to get the Act passed.
August 4, 1965
Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) overcomes Democrat attempts to block 1965 Voting Rights Act; 94% of Senate Republicans vote for landmark civil right legislation, while 27% of Democrats oppose. Voting Rights Act of 1965, abolishing literacy tests and other measures devised by Democrats to prevent African-Americans from voting, signed into law; higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats vote in favor.
G> First, belief is not fact. There is no need for voter ID because there is virtually no instances of voter fraud in the US.
And as far as the ACORN claim goes, according to the Republican prosecutor in the case, “In fact, a Republican prosecutor said of the biggest ACORN fraud case to date: “[T]his scheme was not intended to permit illegal voting.” He said $8-an-hour workers turned in made-up voter registration forms rather than doing what ACORN paid them to do.” These people were making up names so they could get paid more money and had nothing to do with perpetrating voter fraud. This has been cleared up for some time now.
You may also find this further fact checking pertinent: http://factcheck.org/2008/10/acorn-accusations/
Now for the accusations of the Democrats as racists… Look and see how the 2 parties have changed positions over the years. The GOP of Lincoln is much more in line with the Democrats of today. And as far as the KKK and civil rights go you should look at how those previously southern democrat states of the 1960′s now vote. After the civil rights bills passed Congress with those southern Democrats voting for it, those states switched to Republican. And that is where they have stayed through until today.
Your claim only shows that the GOP of today are the Democrats of the past.
Your “FactCheck” was put out during the 2008 Election and was purely political. Since our courts move very slowly, here are a couple examples of what has transpired since then:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/21/officials-plead-guilty-in-new-york-voter-fraud-case/
http://www.lvrj.com/news/judge-fines-acorn-5-000-for-voter-registration-scheme-127467598.html
You’re claim that false registrations are more about people making money than having fraudulent votes has some merit, but it is also obvious that people paying others to produce these registrations anticipate this will happen. Each false registration that is not thrown out becomes an easy way for someone to vote illegally if no ID is required to vote.
I feel very comfortable that voter ID laws are needed and hope that they continue to pass. I’ve seen evidence of voter fraud, and zero evidence of anyone being disenfranchised. If someone votes illegally for Candidate A, though, it does disenfranchise someone else’s legal vote for Candidate B.
You could not be more wrong on Democrats & Republicans. Saying that a state switched to Republican or Democrat from decades previously is not evidence to support your argument. Conservatives think that is the content of a person’s character that is important, not the color of one’s skin. Just like our fellow Republican MLK. We believe everyone is equal (or should be equal under the law).
Hip Hop Republican has a great list of recent racist quotes from Democrats that are a good example of the continued racism of the Democrat Party”
http://hiphoprepublican.com/2006/08/top-racist-democrat-quotes_30.html
And this is a good article: http://www.wnd.com/2012/02/black-liberals-should-be-ashamed/
Continue researching. I feel confident if your mind is open, you’ll come around.
mpbulletin, here’s some more links to educate yourself about democrat history:
http://images.nbra.info/docs/library/NationalBlackRepublicanAssociation2009/NBRA%20Civil%20Rights%20Newsletter%202Feb11.pdf
http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/3554.html
You seem to want evidence about the racism of the left today. It’s quite simple if you look at the big picture. What do democrats stand for? Government, centralized power where the gov takes care of people and society’s institutions. All in the name of compassion of course. So based on their policies and what they believe, in order to remain in power they NEED the existence of the poor. And coincidently the majority of those people are of a minority race. It is essential for the democrats to KEEP people poor and dependent, because if they become free thinking, self reliant, responsible and independent individuals … well let’s just say the democrat party would no longer be necessary or it’s existence would be feeble. And essentially the democrat party would be the same as the republican party. Democrats USE the temporary misfortunes of minorities, in this case mainly blacks and latinos. Does that sound humane?
It’s easy to have the perception that democrats care more because they offer free handouts to “help” people, but if you look at world history and even our history in attempting these techniques, it HAS NOT and NEVER WILL work. It only prevents people from growing and prospering. The left loves to taint republicans as making people “fend for themselves”, while dems “help” people through handouts. If you use common sense, it’s a simple case of liberty vs. tyranny, independence and dependence. Which do you think is more caring towards a human? For dems and libs the ends is POWER and the means is CONTROL. ..”give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime.”