Rock Hill Herald.

Dennis Prager’s frontal assault on Voter ID opponents at National Review:

It is hard to imagine a more demeaning statement about black America than labeling demands that all voters show a photo ID anti-black.

This is easily demonstrated. Imagine if some Democratic politician had announced that demanding a photo ID at the voting booth was an attempt to keep Jewish Americans from voting. No one would understand what the person was talking about. But why not? Jews vote almost as lopsidedly Democrat as do blacks. So why weren’t Jews included in liberal objections to voter ID laws?

We all know the answer. Jews are generally considered intelligent and therefore no one would assume that obtaining a photo ID was demanding too much of even poor Jews (yes, there are poor Jews). Therefore, one can only infer that the argument that demanding photo ID for voting will disenfranchise many blacks suggests that many blacks lack the capacity to obtain a photo ID.

If that is not a legitimate inference, then only one other inference is possible: The argument is made solely in order to score political points by portraying black Americans as victims of Republican racism. Of course, that argument simply takes us back to the original question: Why does requiring a photo ID to vote prevent blacks from voting?

It is, however, effective. Calling Republicans racist has worked for half a century, and will not be abandoned until it is universally recognized as the libel that it is.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz quoted at The Hill:

Republicans would “literally drag [the U.S.] all the way back to Jim Crow laws,” the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) charged over the weekend.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) accused Republicans of trying to resurrect Jim Crow laws in the form of stricter laws at the state level that could limit access to ballots by some voters.

“Now you have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally — and very transparently — block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates

Update: Ooops.

NPR.

Here is the letter that DOJ sent to Hinds County, Mississippi, asking for more information about redistricting plans.  A DOJ Voting Section attorney has been speaking with numerous people inside Hinds County and asking a variety of questions indicating this isn’t your ordinary “more information” request.  Stay tuned.

The letter has a chain of authorship TCH:RSB:JER:AMB:maf:par.  The letter effectively blocked elections from taking place under new district lines because of various statelaw filing deadlines.

Yesterday we reported that Noxubee County (MS) received a “more information” request from the Justice Department, resulting in the elections in Noxubee using old district lines where two candidates no longer live.  Today the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports that a “more information” request also went out to Hind County (MS), where Jackson is, asking for more information and effectively freezing the district lines in place. 

There is more to this story than a more information request.  Hinds and Noxubee have some things in common.  These more information requests reveal a potential change in DOJ policy as it relates to adminstration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  Stay tuned.

Reince Priebus says at US News and World Report that anti-voter fraud reforms are practical, not partisan.  US News and World Report:

“That is what elected leaders in countless states have done in recent months. Legislators in more than 30 states are working to institute photo identification laws. The laws simply require a voter to present a legitimate government-issued photo ID upon arriving at the polls to vote.

This common-sense proposal seeks to further preserve the sanctity of our elections by ensuring that only eligible voters vote in American elections. “

I have obtained the May 31, 2011 “more information” letter sent by the Justice Department to Noxubee County.  It seeks more information regarding a proposed redistricting plan. The effect of the more information letter is to gum up the filing deadlines for the August primary, because two of the candidates do not reside in the districts under the old (still operational) lines.  The second effect is to open the possibility that the DOJ will use Section 5 to protect the rights of a white minority.  In the unlikely event that happens, it will be because the leadership and management had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the position.  Civil rights groups will not be thrilled to hear the Obama Justice Department might use Section 5 to protect a white minority in Mississippi.  The last time DOJ tried to create the impression they were protecting white voters by seeking to extend a remedy in Noxubee County, they lost.   Some highlights from the letter:

*  It seeks more information about the process leading to redistricting, including the consideration of alternative plans.

* The amount of road mileage (distance) in the benchmark plan by supervisor district, and the road mileage in the proposed and alternative plans.

* Locations for voting locations.

* The letter notes the following chain of DOJ staff – TCH:RSB:JER:JLR:maf:par. 

Free training on June 11 between Green Bay and Milwaukee (preventing, not perpetrating): 

Training is free but pre-registration is required by contacting Kohlman at pattyk@lsol.net with subject line “TEA” or call (920) 732-3200.

Daily Caller’s Neil Munro has this story: The Justice Department’s unwatched revolving door.

“The Justice Department’s Civil-Rights Division has hired dozens of Democratic-affiliated lawyers from organizations that have a huge financial stake in the agency’s decisions and policies. .  .  . The law community’s revolving door was inadvertently exposed last week by two uncritical articles published by the National Law Journal and the New York Times. Both outlets studied the resumes of the DoJ’s new hires to show how the DoJ had reversed hiring-patterns followed during the previous administration.”

Pajamas Media will have more, much more, on this issue in the coming weeks and months.