Who really stalled the Voting Rights Act renewal?

an original story by Duke1676 with chief ePluribus Media researcher Intranets

The ePluribus Media crew has been at it again. Walk with us into the mire of what really happened to the Voting Rights Act:

Using the bilingual provisions of the Voting Rights Act as a proxy for the current immigration debate, 79 Representatives last week prevented the House from reauthorizing the bill. But they were not working alone. They had powerful allies in the anti-immigration lobby, allies with some rather disturbing skeletons in the closet.

It should have been just another procedural vote allowing for one of those rare bipartisan moments when legislators gather on the Capitol steps to celebrate a piece of historic legislation. To the humiliation of party leaders, this time around it didn’t quite turn out that way. On Wednesday morning, June 21st, in an increasing common display of Republican disunity, 79 Representatives presented Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) with a letter stating that they would not support the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voicing opposition to the provisions for bilingual ballots contained in the forty-one year old landmark civil rights legislation, the rebellious Republican Representatives refused to lend their votes until the requirements were removed. In spite of the fact that the House Judiciary Committee approved the measure last month by a 33-1 vote, Representatives from nine mostly southern states joined them on the grounds that they believed many of the other protections afforded in the bill were no longer called for. Only hours before floor debate was scheduled to begin, Sensenbrenner wishing not to end up in a protracted and embarrassing floor fight, removed the bill from consideration.

Why?? Why in Heaven’s Name would they do that???

Duke1676 leads us further down the trail of logic and opens that closet of skeletons. We discover names such as KC McAlpin, NumbersUSA, ProEnglish and the tantalizing Tanton web.

In this case it is quite possible that the actual letter that 79 Representatives put their names on was not in fact authored by one of their own, but rather by outside interests, interests with some rather disturbing skeletons in the closet.

UPDATED: More from the original story, as requested:

It now appears some questions have come to light about exactly who is behind both the King letter and the effort to shelve the renewal of the VRA. The official copy of the letter that appears on the web site of the US Congress (found here) apparently was not generated by a house member or their staff, but rather by one of the leading anti-immigration/English only advocacy groups. …appears to have been authored by someone named KC McAlpin using a computer registered to the anti-immigration advocacy group NumbersUSA.

(snip)

Who is KC McAlpin and did he write the letter?

KC McAlpin is the Executive Director of an organization called ProEnglish. According to their website, they are “the nation’s leading advocate(s) of official English. (They) work through the courts and in the court of public opinion to defend English’s historic role as the common, unifying language of the United States of America, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official language at all levels of government.”

The group is one of thirteen like-minded organizations founded by anti-immigrant advocate John Tanton. Tanton’s multi-million dollar web of groups includes not only ProEnglish and NumbersUSA, but also the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR).

(snip)

John Tanton has been credited for single-handedly creating the modern anti-immigration, English-only and Nativist political movements in the United States. Over thirty years he has managed to create a network of think tanks, advocacy groups and fund raising organizations that not only shape public opinion, but public policy. His experts testify before Congress and reports and studies by his various groups are used to formulate legislation. His pundits appear in all forms of media to pontificate and propagandize. By his own admission he says, “I would certainly have no reservations about claiming credit for being the guy secretly manipulating U.S. immigration policy.”

Although he claims to do so only because he believes that “the overwhelming majority of Americans … want to see immigration levels reduced,” his motivations seem to stem from a firm belief that America is in peril due to a worldwide trend of third-world populations taking over the wealthy first-world nations. His philosophy contains a strange mix of environmentalism, protectionism, xenophobia, eugenics, and racism. A philosophy he has been able turn into a political movement though his network of organizations. This network includes both organizations founded by Tanton himself and those started by others that he takes under his wing and then integrates into his network and funds.