The Supreme Court on Monday struck down the Arizona state law that requires prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship to be able to register to vote in national elections. The court voted to overturn the law by a 7-2 margin.
The Arizona law was allegedly put in place as a direct rebuke of President Obama’s efforts on immigration reform. You may recall Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, no fan of clearing a path to citizenship for immigrants illegal or otherwise, famously wagging her finger in the president’s face as she scolded him during a recent campaign stop.
The Latino community has historically voted for Democrats by a wide margin. The Arizona law clearly targeted Hispanics and was little more than a legal ploy to make it more difficult for them to cast their votes for the president. Fortunately the Supreme Court saw the measure for what it truly was.
Never one to let the constitution get in the way of his personal politics, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz responded to the court’s ruling by vowing to attach a voter id amendment to the immigration reform bill currently being debated on the Hill. Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul has promised to proffer a similar amendment. These amendments are certain to torpedo the president’s immigration reform efforts, which is what they are clearly designed to do.
Republicans claim that they want to be a player on the national stage. They say they understand that in order to change their image as the party of “old white guys” they need to be more “inclusive” in their policies and their messaging; that they need to reach out to women and gays and the largest growing demographic in our country…Latinos. Apparently Cruz and Paul didn’t get the memo.
Republicans continue to marginalize themselves in the eyes of minorities.
Evidently Cruz and Paul don’t give a damn.
No comments:
Post a Comment