Charles Pierce: "There is a long, blue river of sadness running through the words of that dissent"

[kpete]

Charlie Pierce re:

Justice Ginsberg's dissent from the Supreme Court decision upholding North Carolina's restrictive voting laws:

Only two justices dissented, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Ginsberg wrote the dissent for both of them, and she said pretty much what I just said, except somewhat more formally than anatomically. She is not fooled by what's been going on here for the last two years, when the Republicans saw the demographic freight train bearing down on them. She sees the historic sweep of the backlash:

For decades, §5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,through its preclearance requirement, worked to safe-guard long obstructed access to the ballot by African-American citizens. In Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U. S. (2013), this Court found the Act's §4 coverage formula obsolete, a ruling that effectively nullified §5's preclear-ance requirement. Immediately after the Shelby Countydecision, North Carolina enacted omnibus House Bill 589, which imposed voter identification early voting by a week, prohibited local election boards from keeping the polls open on the final Saturday afternoon before elections, eliminated same-day voter registration, terminated preregistration of 16- and 17-year olds in high schools, authorized any registered voter to challenge ballots cast early or on Election Day, and barred votes cast in the wrong precinct from being counted at all. These measures likely would not have survived federal preclearance.

................

There is a long, blue river of sadness running through the words of that dissent. It runs under the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama. It pools into a lagoon of sadness behind an earthen dam in Mississippi. The survivors of the generation that fought and bled for the right to vote are getting old and dying off right now. John Lewis is 74. Soon, there won't be any of them left. But it always was thought that the victories they won would survive them. That the real monument to their cause would be lines of the historically disenfranchised suddenly empowered, swamping the system, and realizing that elections in this country are meant to be the most powerful form of civil disobedience there is. And now, it looks very much as though powerful interests are in combination to make sure their victories die with them, here as we celebrate John Roberts's Day of Jubilee. There is a long blue river of sadness running through those words, and a darkness spreading across its surface, and a long night is falling on the face of the water.


http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Supreme_Court_Means_Business

[Blue_Tires]

1. Kick for truth...

[Scuba]

2. Pierce gets it, and uses his words masterfully.

[99th_Monkey]

3. Just wow. Thank you. I'm just glad I read the whole thing. ~nt~

[daleanime]

4. K&R....

[Jackpine Radical]

5. The law needs to be expanded beyond its old target states to include

the new bastions of apartheid, vote-suppression and minority disenfranchisement such as Wisconsin.

[Enthusiast]

18. +1 an entire shit load.

[bullwinkle428]

6. K&R. Screw the "liberals" that failed to dissent on this issue.

[dragonlady]

13. Those liberals seem to have had a reason for their votes

This election law specialist explains the reasoning behind the votes of Kagan and Breyer:

Substantively, Justices Breyer and Kagan could well agree with me that ultimately North Carolina’s law, which I’ve dubbed the strict set of voting restrictions we’ve seen enacted as a package since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, should be found unconstitutional. But even so, under the Purcell v. Gonzalez principle, it was wrong for the 4th Circuit to make this change in the rules so close to the election (particularly where plaintiffs waited a while to seek a preliminary injunction [this has been corrected]).

But there’s a strategic angle here as well. The Purcell issue looms very large in the Wisconsin voter id case. That is, even if the Supreme Court ultimately would say that Wisconsin’s law is constitutional and does not violate the Voting Rights Act, this is a very strong case under Purcell. (As I explained, the key question is whether Wisconsin has a strong enough state interest in its sovereignty over elections to implement a voter id law very quickly before the election, when there has been no preparation and when the undisputed evidence shows that, by the state’s own account, up to 10 percent of the state’s voters could be disenfranchised (a position the 7th Circuit en banc dissenters called shocking).

By not joining Ginsburg in the NC dissent, Kagan and Breyer are ready to (1) appeal to Justices Kennedy and Chief Justice Roberts under the Purcell principle, using an argument of consistency and/or (2) write a very strong dissent excoriating the majority for allowing WI’s voter id law to go into effect now when it literally can disenfranchise thousands of Wisconsin voters.

How will it look if the five conservative Justices stand on the side of Republicans in the Ohio, North Carolina, and Wisconsin cases? Very bad.

http://electionlawblog.org/?p=66570

This strategy did work to block the Wisconsin ID law: thousands of people will retain their right to vote and we have a better chance of defeating Walker. It may well have the same effect when the Texas injunction is appealed.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Where was this consideration in

Bush v. Gore, Citizens United & McCutcheon?

"How will it look if the five conservative Justices stand on the side of Republicans in the Ohio, North Carolina, and Wisconsin cases? Very bad. "

Why should they at this late date start trying to disguise their collective assholery?

[madokie]

7. Wow that is some pretty powerful writing

[KJG52]

8. The GOP Dragging America, kicking and screaming, back to the 19th Century...

with nary an objection from the Democratic Party. We've been kissing Republican ass since Reagan, approving every corporatist judicial nominee thrown up by the GOP and then adding to that with Republican judges being appointed by Democrats, and it's supposed to be all about the Supreme Court, it is to laugh...

[heaven05]

15. so true+1000nt

[Solly Mack]

9. K&R

[brer cat]

10. K&R

[BrotherIvan]

11. Yes, Mr. Pierce, a pall has fallen over our nation

I can only hope it is the sputtering of a dying flame. But there is still work left to do to make sure it is extinguished forever.

[Tommymac]

12. Tears.

May Roberts, Thomas, and especially Scalia rot in Hell as long as spacetime exists. I cannot curse them enough.

[world wide wally]

14. There is little doubt remaining that this partisan, racist Supreme Court is out to destroy what we

once referred to as "American Democracy" and replace it with "Dickensian" social structure with an aristocracy and an intentionally poor working class.

[Enthusiast]

19. +1 You nailed it.

[cali]

16. Pierce has written some outstanding pieces but

this one surpasses anything of his I've ever read.

[leftstreet]

17. DURec

[Enthusiast]

20. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

This is something DU should unite on. Surely we can all agree on this flawed decision.

[classof56]

21. K&R for truth

Long blue river of sadness...well said, Mr. Pierce. John Roberts' Day of Jubilee...

I weep at what those words mean.

[DonCoquixote]

23. In other words

Immediately after the Shelby County decision, North Carolina enacted omnibus House Bill 589, which imposed voter identification early voting by a week, prohibited local election boards from keeping the polls open on the final Saturday afternoon before elections, eliminated same-day voter registration, terminated preregistration of 16- and 17-year olds in high schools, authorized any registered voter to challenge ballots cast early or on Election Day, and barred votes cast in the wrong precinct from being counted at all. These measures likely would not have survived federal preclearance.

In other words, the second the muzzle was removed from the GOP dogs, they started sinking their teeth into the voting rights of anyone NOT White or Old, aka, those whose votes they did not control. They allowed the "vote challenges" which in practice are older white voters doping their best to harass the votes of whoever they do not like. In short, they showed exactly why we needed the Voting Rights act IN PLACE.

History will remember Tony Scalia as someone that did as much damage to this country as Osama Ben Ladin ever did. He destroyed any HINT that the Judicial branch is focused on justice, and turned them into the enforcement arm of the GOP. He put W. in office, and it all went downhill from there, and he would gladly put another Bush in office if it suits him, the law be damned! I do not like to wish negative fates on people, but if there is a Hell, may Tony go there, hopefully ASAP before he gets his tentacles into the 2016 election!

[spanone]

24. k&r...

[tblue37]

25. What happened to Kagan? I can't imagine how she didn't join the dissent! nt

[blkmusclmachine]

26. Where the f ck was Kagan and Breyer ?!?!?!

And so much for Kennedy being a "moderate" or "swing" vote. All he is, is a Drama Queen, a rightwing ideologue whoring for constant attention.

[The Wizard]

27. Until thde right wing hacks

lose control, the Court will be Mediocre at best.