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Vitter on Voting Rights

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    Chris Stirewalt and Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) discuss voting rights and the supercommittee

  • Duration 6:06
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When you compared what people endured in the south in the sixties to try to get the right to vote for African Americans to compare what people subjected to that.

What happened in Philadelphia.

Which was inappropriate to describe it in those terms I think there's a great disservice to the people who put their lives on the line.

For my people that was attorney general Eric Holder -- back in March talking about in house testimony.

The new black Panthers case that Republicans say his agency looked the wrong way about limiting access to voting rights.

This has been the under the radar story in Washington all year not just this black -- -- stuff but the fight over.

Ballot security.

Access to voting and all of this stuff it's been simmering underneath it's gonna have a lot to say about how the next election goes -- continue to try to crack down on voter fraud.

In the Obama administration tries to expand the roles so.

We have an expert who can talk about that and that is senator David bitter from the great state of Louisiana who is leaning on an attorney general holder's agency a little bit.

To try and come clean and be clear about what the administration is doing as it relates to voting rights welcome back to power play senator how you doing today.

Good press good to be -- so what's the beef on voting rights what's going on.

-- like it's real simple Chris the voting rights act.

Is passed into law it's the law of the land in the Department of Justice should enforce all parts of it.

The problem is this Justice Department under Eric Holder is selectively enforcing.

It's same for CNN against the right it's not enforcing it against the left.

Perfect cases in my state of Louisiana they just sent investigators down and they filed suit alleging.

That state offices like welfare offices do not aggressively try to sign up people.

Onto the voting rolls under the voting rights act into the motor voter law.

However the Department of Justice is not at all -- forcing the very next revision of that motor voter law.

Supposed to take non voters non citizens -- all the rules there are several states.

Where there.

More registered voters than people under the new offenses.

-- Eric Holder is selectively.

Enforcing the law.

In a very political -- and that's wrong.

Now senator what do you think what do you think's gonna happen here because this battle as I said it's been raging sort of behind the scenes in Washington as we talk about other things but this is a really big deal for next year because if this election is as I was letting people say this could matter a great deal.

-- I -- Eric Holder recently and I'm trying to bring attention to this simply.

To get them to properly enforce the law across the books not just one section of the law.

All relevant sections of law enforcement in a nonpolitical way that's not what they're doing.

-- right now I wanna move on this is our time is short and ask you.

I heard at a phrase -- I had not heard a long time in Washington but I guess as we're talking about a balanced budget amendment I guess it makes sense to bring back some of the classics.

But you've been talking about welfare reform I thought when I did that in about 1995.

What's going on.

We did -- the previous congress in 1995 did it it was significant.

But we're overdue for another installment of welfare reform first of all that 1995.

Action.

Just impacted one significant program.

There -- 77.

Means tested welfare programs since then the welfare state has grown almost -- financial.

It's grown more on the last few decades than social security and Medicare -- line.

We're always talking as we should that the biggest budget problem we have is mandatory spending so called entitlement programs.

But we never put into the mix welfare programs in fact that's where the biggest growth has been.

More than Medicare more than Social Security.

And so we need another significant.

Installment of welfare reform that's why I joined senator Jim -- other senators.

In introducing a significant welfare reform bill yesterday.

The senator thank you for the education and have a great Thursday.

Bank president there.

Okay.

And we're back now with -- -- -- -- I just want to.

Very quickly ask you this question before we go there's room ticking down.

Steven Chu secretary of energy is on Capitol Hill today giving.

They tortured testimony talking about this a liberal loans.

It seems increasingly likely that he is going to be the fall guy on this stuff Sony has to be the administration is sort of following all the stuff to him is he in on the joke do you think he knows that he's being made to walk the client.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- It's say it rough day to be Stevens -- but it's a great day here in studio three especially since you were your season we're very grateful to you think you're.

Stake here okay now and that we're gonna leave you as we like to do every day with the word from our -- -- It's.

So I think it's rather.

It's damaging I'm not sure how damaging it is but let's remember.

When he was asked about this in the -- say well I was there is a historian.

And what did I say he says do this is a -- this is insane is -- impossible.

Well it turns out -- that's what he said he must have sent it over and over again because he 125000.

A month.

For three years at one point -- two years later.

If you wanted to deliver a message about it tomorrow -- you you can do it in a minute and hour a day.

But every month for five years.

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