Jim Crow is back

Former President Bill Clinton compared Republican sponsored legislation to Jim Crow laws, reprising the accusations made earlier by Democratic Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The Republicans responded angrily both times. Chris Jankowski, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, epitomized the response with his comments. He said that Clinton “owes an apology to Republican legislators that are seeking sensible steps to protect the integrity of elections in our country. Maybe it was an attempt to distract from the Democrats’ abysmal record of tax hikes and shutdowns over spending cuts, or perhaps he was simply trying to be provocative while speaking to a super-liberal audience. Either way, such rhetoric is out of bounds.” The bottom line … Clinton is right. Republicans may call it protecting the “integrity of elections,” but they know that their supporters are traditionally not as easily dissuaded from voting by additional hurdles, like the new identification requirements in Pennsylvania. They know that the voters impacted by a proposed New Hampshire law preventing college students from registering to vote where they attend school are more likely to be Democrats than Republican. The same is true of the felons who have completed probation that now can’t vote in Florida. They know that restrictions on access to the ballot box generally favor them. They aren’t concerned with the integrity of elections; they are concerned with effecting change in the system that will make it easier for Republicans to win elections in the future. It is the same motivation that was behind the Jim Crow laws. The Republicans don’t change that fact with labels, name calling (“super-liberal”), or a ballsy claim of inappropriate rhetoric (this is the party of death panels and birthers). It isn’t outrageous to compare this new Republican sponsored legislation to Jim Crow laws, it is outrageous that more folks aren’t making the comparison.