DNC Chair to GOP: Uh, Sorry About 'Jim Crow' Charge

Said Republicans wanted to 'literally' return to racist laws
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 7, 2011 8:04 AM CDT
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz Backs Off 'Jim Crow' Charge
In this Jan. 4, 2011, file photo Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz has backed off just a bit from her statement that Republicans “want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws.” She was referring to Republican-backed proposals to reduce voter fraud, like requiring voters to show a photo ID. “Photo ID laws, we think, are very similar to a poll tax,” she said in a TV One interview Sunday. “About 25% of African-American voters don’t have a valid photo ID.”

“There is so little voter fraud,” she said. “Republicans are imposing laws all over the country acting like … voter fraud is rampant, and it’s ridiculous.” The Republican Congressional Committee called Wasserman’s accusations “absurd” and “offensive,” quipping, “Wasserman Shultz will ‘literally’ say anything.” Wasserman Shultz relented yesterday. “Jim Crow was the wrong analogy to use,” she said, according to CNN. But she added, “I don’t regret calling attention” to GOP attempts to restrict minority voters’ access to the ballot box. Click to read about Wasserman Shultz's last snafu. (More Debbie Wasserman Schultz stories.)

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