Obey on the VRA and Next Week

Obey voted against an amendment to the reauthorization of parts of the Voting Rights Act that would have limited the responsibility of states to produce multiple language ballots - a huge cost to governments and a discouragement to citizens to speak and read English. It's another example of his weak record on requiring immigrants to be legal and to fully assimilate.

We support the principles of the Voting Rights Act, most of which is already permanent. There was a lot of discussion on the floor of the U.S. House today that would make you think if this wasn't passed minorities all over the country would be discriminated against tomorrow. Without going into long, boring detail, that's simply untrue (for one, these provisions did not expire for another year).

This was a political debate. Republicans are trying to reach out to minorities and the Congressional Black Caucus is trying to cap the number of district Republicans can gain by putting rules in place that would make it difficult to redraw Congressional District lines.

We are waiting till next week when Obey's Catholic values will be tested again. He will vote against upholding the President's veto of legislation to federally fund embryo destroying medical research and he will vote against the federal marriage amendment again.