Civil & Human Rights

Boehner & the White Man’s Party Prepare to Kill Immigration Reform

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Partyofnoby Pamela Powers Hannley

Knuckle-dragging Republicans in the US House of Representatives have said that they will NOT– that is NOT with capital letters– pass an immigration “reform” bill that includes a path to citizenship for 12 million immigrants living in the US.

After all, the Republican Party’s corporate masters are making big bucks exploiting and imprisoning undocumented workers; I guess their motto is: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For big business, immigration ain’t broke (except that they would like easier access to  cheap, skilled labor from India).

The US Senate’s much-celebrated bill did have a path to citizen (plus lots of other stuff the Democrats agreed to in order to get a handful of Republicans to vote for it.)

In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t like the US Senate’s version of Immigration Reform for multiple reasons. Read them and more about the White Man's Party after the jump.

Senate Judiciary Committee to begin hearings to amend the Voting Rights Act

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Talking Points Memo reports that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is following through on his promise to begin hearings to amend the Voting Rights Act. Senate Dems Set July 17 Hearing On Voting Rights Act:

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has scheduled a
hearing on Wednesday, July 17 to consider a congressional response to
the Supreme Court's ruling striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

The witness list so far includes Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a civil
rights icon, and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), a key Republican
supporter of the Voting Rights Act.

"The Voting Rights Act has been a central pillar of the civil rights
laws that have helped bring America’s ideals closer to reality for all
Americans," Leahy said. "Congress reauthorized this law with
overwhelming bipartisan support, and we again must work together to
ensure that no Americans are discriminated against when exercising their
fundamental right to vote. I look forward to hearing next week from
Congressman Lewis and Congressman Sensenbrenner, two lawmakers who were
instrumental in the 2006 reauthorization and who I hope to work closely
with again this year."

The hearing will be livestreamed at this link.

Pro-Choice Advocates Fight Back in Wis, NC, & Texas

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by Pamela Powers Hannley Pro-choice advocates are fighting the Republican Party's anti-woman laws in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Texas. In Wisconsin, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the anti-abortion legislation signed in secret by Governor Scott Walker on July 5. From the Huffington Post… U.S. District Judge William Conley … Read more

The White Man’s Party moves to kill comprehensive immigration reform

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week I posed the question, Is the GOP becoming the White Man's Party?, based upon a provocative series of articles by Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics arguing that the GOP does not need to improve its appeal to Latino voters as much as it needs to improve its appeal to the "missing white voters" of its base.

Today we know the answer to the question: the GOP has dramatically shifted to the position that the House does not need to take up comprehensive immigration reform any time soon, and the GOP should focus on appealing to the "missing white voters" of its base.

The "Pinky and The Brain" of movement conservatism intellectual thought, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and National Review editor Rich Lowry — two of the most influential conservative voices in media — co-signed an editorial today in The Weekly Standard urging House Republicans to "kill the bill."

Governor Bobby Jindal, the self-styled "Brain of Baton Rouge," who famously advised the GOP that it has to "stop being the stupid party" earlier this year, penned a column today for the National Review on immigration reform entitled “Botching immigration again,” in which he also comes to the conclusion to "kill the bill" (without saying so directly).