It doesn’t matter whether Sen. Sessions may smile or how friendly he may be, whether he may speak to you. We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against. And it doesn’t matter whether they are black or white, Latino, Asian or Native American, whether they are straight or gay, Muslim, Christian or Jews. We all live in the same house, the American house.
- Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
Senator Sessions has not demonstrated a commitment to a central requisite of the job: to aggressively pursue the congressional mandate of civil rights, equal rights, and justice for all of our citizens.
- Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) testifying at Attorney General confirmation hearings
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| Alabama State Troopers Attacking Civil Rights Activist John Lewis - Selma, AL 1965 |
Corey Booker's and John Lewis' moving testimony not withstanding, Jeff Sessions will be confirmed as the Attorney General of the United States. Thanks to a Democratic- supported change in Senate rules several years ago at the height of Republican obstructionism, Democrats cannot filibuster his confirmation. That no Republican senator will "cross the aisle" to oppose his nomination is a given. The moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is one of two senators introducing Sessions at the confirmation hearings. It is more likely that Democrats from some red states will break rank and vote to confirm Sessions.
Sessions is Trump's most controversial cabinet nominee, and he is nominated for what is arguably the most important domestic cabinet position. The AG decides what laws the Federal government will enforce. He can use that power to enforce voting and civil rights or he can use it to deport undocumented immigrants. He can enforce environmental laws and labor protections or he can ignore them. He can continue the criminal justice system reform started in the Obama Administration or he can let it wither. He can expand the surveillance of the American people or he can dial it back.
So this anti-immigrant, climate change skeptic, defense hawk, right-wing Senator who opposes the Voting Rights Act, will soon be charged with protecting the rights of all of us. He thinks the Voting Rights Act is "intrusive" but that voter ID laws (aka voter suppression laws) are not a problem. When Sessions was the United States attorney in West Alabama in 1985, he unsuccessfully prosecuted three African-American civil rights activists, accusing them of voter fraud. This disgraceful episode, which he still defends as a necessary action, should have been more than enough to disqualify him for the post. But politics and partisanship being what they are, Jeff Sessions will be confirmed.
Southern Poverty Law Center's Heidi Beirich says that his mere presence in Trump's inner circle is “a tragedy for American politics.” His attorney-generalship is more than that. It is an affront to the most distinguishing right in a democracy - the right to vote.
Our democracy and its freedoms are in danger - not from Russian hacks but from within. Is this alarmist? If you think so, take the example of North Carolina, a leader in the Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts. A recent report from the Electoral Integrity Project, based at Harvard University and the University of Sydney, indicates that North Carolina can no longer be considered a functioning democracy. In fact, the EIP ranked US elections last among all Western democracies. The highly-acclaimed Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem) agrees. The only democracy with the same general ranking for free and fair elections in V-Dem's study is Lithuania.
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With the Federal government about to abrogate its duty to protect civil rights and voting rights and with xenophobia so richly rewarded in the last elections, we will once again, for the first time in many years, need to rely on private organizations such as the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the NAACP, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Let's wish them success.
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