Saturday Night Video – John Lewis on Voter Rights

It’s pretty obvious after watching the respective political conventions that the Republicans can’t win on ideas. That’s one of the reasons why they failed to get the traditional convention poll bounce that Democrats are now enjoying.

For Mitt Romney to win this election, he has to rely upon:
1. Money from billionaires.
2. Voter suppression.

John Lewis gave one of the more powerful speeches at the Democratic Convention when he spoke to the second point on Thursday.

LEWIS: Brothers and sisters, do you want to go back? Or do you want to keep America moving forward? My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union. Not too long ago, people stood in unmovable lines. They had to pass a so-called literacy test, pay a poll tax. On one occasion, a man was asked to count the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. On another occasion, one was asked to count the jelly beans in a jar — all to keep them from casting their ballots.

Today, it is unbelievable that there are Republican officials trying to stop some people from voting. They are changing — they are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. The Republican leader in the Pennsylvania House even bragged that his state’s new voter ID law is “gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state.” That’s not right. That’s not fair. And that is not just.

And similar efforts have been made in Texas, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina. I’ve seen this before. I’ve lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.

Each election, we have to ask ourselves, how far have we come?