Legal Commentary

Why Is Obama Unique?

With so many black members of Congress, why have there been so few black senators and why is Obama the first black candidate with a real chance to be president?

According to a fascinating article in today?s Wall Street Journal, Abigail Thernstrom argues with great force that a great deal of the blame must be laid at the feet of the Voting Rights Act.

?The Voting Rights Act perplexingly integrates the Congress by separating people into different congressional districts on the basis of race,? political scientist David Lublin has noted. The statute has conferred on minority candidates a unique privilege: protection from white competition. In theory, there are no group rights to representation in America. In fact, the 1965 statute has created a system of reserved seats for blacks and Hispanics.

Almost all members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been elected to fill a reserved seat. They run in what Justice Sandra Day O?Connor has called ?segregated? districts. These are districts devoid of the normal political pressures that encourage candidates to move to the political center. Candidates win ... by emphasizing their racial bona fides, their commitment to representing black interests, and their far-left convictions ? matching those of most black voters. It is not a recipe for winning in statewide and other majority-white settings.

Full post as published by Discriminations on March 14, 2008 (boomark / email).