Capehart recalled that we were nearly twenty years beyond the presidency of George W. Bush, under whom the Senate voted to continue the Voting Rights Act for another twenty years, with all of its measures that combatted the corruption now thriving in the absence of section 5. With section 4's specification, it prescribes preclearance of any voting or election-related measures attempted by states where relevant practices in the past had been corrupt and prejudiced.
Even if the Democrats win back the White House, continued Capehart, there will still be a brand of corruption that so impeded President Obama during his tenure. "We need decent people in office, . . . . open-minded, not shameless right-wing conservatives."
Waters added that some states still prevent former felons from voting even after they have served their time and reintegrated with society in every other way. She decried the example set by former Georgia SoS Brian Kemp in 2018, who took charge of his own election to the governorship of his state, where vote-list purging had eliminated enough voters, hundreds of thousands, to hand him the victory. "We can educate ourselves about election laws and best practices and figure out what must be done in advance of Election 2020." Articles of impeachment can be constructed before the end of this year, said Waters, who then switched the subject to President Trump's appreciation of the way that North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong Un runs things.
If Trump can get away with the many abuses of power that he has accomplished, think of the precedent he is setting for future chief executives, she said.
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The awards ceremony took place in the building that houses both the Washington Post and the evening's generous sponsors, the law firm Reed Smith, LLP, on K Street. Tribute was also paid to law students present from Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia. Arnwine called both groups "our future."
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