Decades of racist attacks on voting rights have given the far right a virtual stranglehold on American politics. (And this doesn’t mean the neoliberal left is blameless.)
Republicans control Congress, the Presidency, the majority of state legislatures. You combine that with the fact that most Democrats only defend their corporate sugar daddies and the result is a heavily right-wing agenda sweeping America. Many are now looking to the mid-term elections in 2018 as an opportunity to turn things around.
Efforts such as Bernie Sanders’ “Unity Tour” are meant to lure voters back into the Democratic fold and also to the polls. They also hope to encourage new candidates to run for office. Unfortunately, they’re likely to fall far short of their goal, thanks to voter ID laws, gerrymandering of districts, and a system called Interstate Crosscheck, all blatantly racist moves by the GOP which purged millions of mostly minority voters from the rolls or otherwise kept them home on election day.
Courts are starting to take notice. Since March, Texas has lost not one, not two, but three cases alleging that their voting laws were racist. First, a district court ruled that congressional voting districts had been drawn to intentionally hurt black and Latino voters, then a federal judge struck down the state’s voter ID law. Finally, on April 21, a federal court ruled that the state voting districts were similarly rigged to “dilute” minority voices.
Now, many of you may be thinking, “What does Texas have to do with me?” Well, remember that what starts in Texas never stays in Texas. All these issues are rampant throughout the country, and we’ve only begun to repair the problem.
We Will Never Have A Legit Democracy Until We Change These 3 Things
By Kit O’Connell Decades of racist attacks on voting rights have given the far right a virtual stranglehold on American politics. (And this doesn’t mean the neoliberal left is blameless.) Republicans control Congress, the Presidency, the majority of state legislatures.
