It seems pretty clear that the Justice Department is testing out the extent of its powers under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act against Texas first because Texas is a much stronger case. It’s not easy to prove intentional discrimination, which is the bar that DOJ must now meet, since the Supreme Court’s June decision that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. But lucky for DOJ, a federal court has already ruled in an earlier case that a Texas redistricting map was deliberately discriminatory. That gives DOJ a leg up as it argues that Texas should be subjected to stricter oversight under the law. Today’s new effort by DOJ to block the Texas voter ID law follows the same basic theory. Read More
Justice Department files new lawsuit against the state of Texas, contending that the state’s voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act.
Just as the federal investigation into Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) was reaching a boil, the U.S. attorney overseeing the whole thing announced he is stepping down.
Embattled and ridiculous San Diego Mayor Bob Filner reaches tentative deal to conclude sex harassment lawsuit against him and the City of San Diego.
This could be fun. It turns out that a few years ago Ted Cruz was asked under penalty of perjury for a federal government background check whether or not he was a dual citizen.
Ted Cruz is apparently hitting the 2016 trail and answering the first question posed to presidential candidates: “Where’s the birth certificate?”
Liz Cheney forced to post bond for making a false residency statement in attempt to obtain Wyoming fishing license.
Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, one of if not the top immigration reform advocate in the country, responds to my post yesterday (“Immigration Reformers, Wake the F’Up!“) in “An open letter to Josh Marshall and other immigration reform pessimists who might be interested.”
First, a necessary preliminary. I have great respect for Sharry and believe deeply in the reform he’s done so much to bring to the brink of success.
So here’s my response. Read More