“We the People have the awesome power to make our union more perfect.” Obama Writes in NY Times
AUG 12, 2015 – President Obama, inspired by the great (but depressing) piece by Jim Rutenberg, “A Dream Undone – Inside the 50-year Campaign to Roll Back the Voting Rights Act” that shows the waves of voter suppression laws that have undermined the Voting Rights Act of 1965, wrote a letter to the NY Times and in it the President called for the restoration and strengthening of the Voting Rights Act. President Obama writes about the voting rights struggle in this country especially in the African-American community and says, “What makes our country great is not that we are perfect, but that with time, courage and effort, we can become more perfect. What makes America special is our capacity to change.” Yet President Obama adds, “as Rutenberg chronicles, from the moment the ink was dry on the Voting Rights Act, there has been a concentrated effort to undermine this historic law and turn back the clock on its progress. His article puts the recent push to restrict Americans’ voting rights in its proper context. These efforts are not a sign that we have moved past the shameful history that led to the Voting Rights Act.”
JTMP also calls for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, and as President Obama said we need to be making it EASIER for Americans to vote, not harder. It’s easy to register to vote on JTMP, just use the form on the right! Start a discussion below or on our JTMP Facebook Page.
President Obama’s Letter to the Editor NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/magazine/president-obamas-letter-to-the-editor.html?_r=0
“A Dream Undone – Inside the 50-year Campaign to Roll Back the Voting Rights Act” by Jim Rutenberg on NY Times here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/magazine/voting-rights-act-dream-undone.html
