VRA Renewal Looking Less Likely; GOP Brings God Into The Mix

Yes, Texas’ Three Stooges (see the masthead) and their colleagues are at it again. Via the LA Times:

But on the cusp of a vote scheduled for Thursday that White House strategists and other top Republicans once hoped would symbolize a GOP eager to attract more blacks and Latinos, a group of increasingly vocal Capitol Hill conservatives is staging a revolt — arguing that certain provisions of the law are out of sync with party principles and are insulting to the South.

~(SIGH)~

The LA Times goes on to describe the current situation as an “emotional standoff.” Immigration, the VRA failure…what’s next? Oh, President Bush can’t decide whether or not he should address the NAACP Convention:

And the dispute is erupting at the same time that White House officials are deciding whether Bush this weekend should make his first speech since taking office to the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation’s oldest and biggest civil rights organization. The disagreement in the GOP-dominated Congress could spoil Bush’s ability to cite renewal of the Voting Rights Act as proof that minorities can trust Republicans.

Of course, a Republican president like Bush speaking to the NAACP is kind of like having Carole Keeton Strayhorn speak to Texans for Rick Perry. Both would be as misunderstood as a fox in a henhouse.

Of course, Republicans, once again, are trying to make this about God and religion. Evidently, Jesus does not like the Voting Rights Act:

“The party is engaged in group politics,” said Rep. Steve King of Iowa. “I reject the idea of doing that. We are all created in God’s image. He draws no distinction between race, skin color or national origin. It’s an insult to him for us to do so in our public policy in America.”

Personally, I think God was more insulted by Texas Redistricting, literacy tests and hosing down civil rights protestes. But, that’s just me.

AP has a story up, too. Some of it is a reahash of what I brought you earlier, but it has some great comments from civil rights leaders.