Republicans Block voting rights act renewal

House leaders abruptly canceled a vote to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act yesterday after rank-and-file Republicans revolted over provisions that require bilingual ballots in many places and continued federal oversight of voting practices in Southern states.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062206J.shtml">Washington Post

Apparently this law is more of a nuisance than a help according to these republican lawmakers. Whats the big deal? They insist that immigrants learn and use English

Should state and local governments print ballots in foreign languages or provide interpreters for those in need? These are american citizens, not illegal immigrants, why does the right have their panties in a twist over people speaking/reading fluent english?

In Arizona, the GOP-dominated Legislature is spending some important time deciding whether or not english should be the official langauge. What a absolute waste of time. It appears these measure are their way of trying to energize their base. Since they can't agree on immigration reform, at least they can save the country by declaring it an English only zone and make sure US citizens who can't read english well don't get to vote. BRAVO! I am glad they are addressing these pressing issues.