“Section 5 is a politicized weapon wielded by DOJ”

 National Review:


“Liberal groups may very soon see a provision of the Voting Rights Act they cherish and exploit declared unconstitutional because they would not listen to the Supreme Court’s warning about its deficiencies.


Instead, they engaged in a reactionary defense of a sweeping federal power that badly needed updating and retooling. Now they may lose it all, if Wednesday’s hearing before the Supreme Court on Shelby County v. Holder, a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, provides any clues. . . .

I’ll put it more bluntly. Congress has now renewed Section 5’s provisions without any changes a total of four times, in large part because members who voted against renewing it were bound to be criticized as racists. In other words, the votes to renew Section 5 were legislators at their least courageous. . . .

The reality today is that Section 5 has become a politicized weapon wielded by the Justice Department, which last year, for example, used it to block South Carolina’s adoption of a voter-ID law. A federal court found Justice’s objection to be without merit and based on dubious evidence of discrimination; the court ordered that South Carolina be reimbursed for its legal costs. As Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation notes: “Of the 12,000 covered states, municipalities, counties, city governments, in the last ten years, there have only been 37 objections under Section 5.””

Justice Sotomayor wrong on the facts – Alabama has one objection in 12 years


Justice Sotomayor was quick out of the gate alleging discrimination and 240 violations of the Voting Rights Act in Alabama.  


When Bert Rein, the attorney representing Shelby County, commented that “the South had changed,” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, responded, “Your county pretty much hasn’t.” She called Shelby County the “epitome” of why Section 5, which imposes the pre-clearance requirement on all or part of 16 states, is still needed.  One of the cities in the county, Calera, redrew political boundaries five years ago in a way the Justice Department rejected as discriminatory under Section 5. And Sotomayor said there were 240 instances of the Voting Rights Act being used successfully to block or dismantle discriminatory voting changes in Alabama.

“You may be the wrong party bringing this,” Sotomayor told Rein.

Alabama actually has had just one objection in 12 years.  One city council decision that got on the wrong side of the DOJ.  Yet all of Alabama and the country has to pay for the sins of Alabama 30 years ago for another 25 years.  Sotomayor was visibly angry, so angry she distorted the facts.  

Rick Hasen Resorts to Name Calling

For a couple of months I’ve pointed out that Pam Karlan has published false scholarship in the Duke Law journal about the Bush administration’s record of voting rights enforcement.  I cover all the details here.  I became particularly interested in Karlan’s false scholarship after she attacked George Will in the Washington Post for using imprecise language, as she called it.  

Over time, it was amusing watching two things.  First, Cal Irvine law professor Rick Hasen is quick to pester any conservative about perceived errors, or, even failing to post one of his comments or mail him a grand jury report that someone obtained.  While pestering conservatives in the strangest and most obsessive of ways, he gives a pass to the false scholarship of a left wing professor.  If he ignored people like John Fund or Hans von Spakvosky, instead of disparaging them, I would ignore him.  But he can’t seem to ignore them, yet fully ignores Karlans falsehoods.

For pointing this out, the “scholar” proclaims the observations of his biased inconsistencies are from “bizzaro world.”   Tough thoughtful stuff, it is.  But a playground style deflection of the contrast between his obsession with Fund/vonSpakovsky and his near hero-worship of the dishonest Karlan isn’t bizzaro world, or even bizarre.  Its a simple observation that he doesn’t shoot straight, but far too many people think he does (probably including most of his students).

It isn’t “bizzaro world” to point this out, and you’d expect more from someone who seems to strive to be taken oh-so-seriously.

Democrat Election Commissioner Arrested

From KUAM:

Carillo told the agents, “I know why you guys are here, because of the marijuana.” While he allegedly denied knowledge of the contents of the package, when asked why he opened it, Carillo responded, “We always do that.” During the execution of a search warrant, agents found a glass pipe, a metal grinder, packaging material, scales and a small amount of marijuana. They also found a “substantial” amount of marijuana in a clear square plastic container and empty plastic bags containing suspected marijuana residue within and under the center console of a vehicle that belongs to Carillo’s girlfriend.

Carillo also allegedly admitted to texting a friend to come over and smoke with him. Court documents indicated that Carillo identified him as Fernando Santos. Santos was interviewed and said he previously purchased marijuana from Carillo, who also allegedly admitted to smoking with “a lot of other guys from Yigo” and smoking “as much as he can, up to half an ounce a week“. Zaani Branch denied knowing of packages being sent to him at the house or that packages were being opened by others on his behalf.

Carillo and Carlo Branch are both employed at Vice Speaker B.J. Cruz’s Office. Carlo Branch is the vice speaker’s chief policy analyst. He did not answer calls today for comment about the incident at his home.

“Group under fire for McConnell tweets also faces FEC questions”

When it rains, it pours.  The super PAC under fire for posting racist tweets about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife failed to disclose its December fundraising numbers and received a warning notice from the Federal Election Commission. Progress Kentucky, which was formed in December to oppose McConnell, received a letter from the FEC Feb. 19 asking for the super PAC to disclose its donors and expenditures.

Link at Politico.