Walter Jones: The Voting Rights Act Passed During Civil Rights Era May Shoulder Some Blame if U.S. Defaults on Obligations

Could the Voting Rights Act enacted to safeguard rights of black voters, be partly to blame if the U.S. defaults on its debts?

The Voting Rights Act, enacted during the civil rights era to safeguard the rights of black voters, could shoulder some of the blame if the U.S. defaults on its debts over the debt-limit impass. That's according to The Augusta Chronicle's Atlanta bureau chief Walter Jones. Huh?

How did this law's impact end up so backward to its goals? The original aim was to maintain or even strengthen blacks' voting power by ensuring fair redistricting.

As the Jim Crow laws were struck down and blacks were no longer barred from casting their ballots, the next strategy was to divide them up into separate districts where they would be in the minority and have little influence on the election results. So Congress added provisions in Section 5 of the law that require ample "majority minority" districts where blacks have the critical mass to determine the outcome of elections.

Since blacks so reliably vote Democratic, where they were put on the district maps became the most visible tool in the partisan battle. When Democrats run the redistricting, they tend to distribute black voters across as many districts as the law allows so they'll help keep Democratic lawmakers in the statehouse majority. Source: Augusta Chronicle

That's music to the ears of those on the right who want to do away with the Voting Rights Act all together.  The reality is that politicians on both said of the aisle - Republican and Democrat - don't care one iota for the black community as they claim. Read more: http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/elections/georgia-elections/2011-07-09/analysis-time-let-voting-rights-act-die