NEW YORK — President Obama delivered a fiery speech before the annual National Action Network’s convention on Friday and accused the GOP of waging in an all-out assault on voting rights.
“This recent effort to restrict the vote has not been led by both parties. It’s been led by the Republican Party,” Obama said, adding that new voter identification laws are being put into place to help diminish the voting rolls. “If your strategy depends on having fewer people showing up to vote, that’s not a sign of strength. That’s a sign of weakness. And not only it is ultimately bad politics, ultimately it is bad for the country.”
Speaking before the civil rights group founded in 1991 by activist and MSNBC talk show host Rev. Al Sharpton, Obama said that the future of voting rights is currently in grave danger. “The stark simple truth is this: the right to vote is threatened today.”
The president’s speech came a day after he participated in the 50th commemoration of the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. His speech was delivered amid criticism by some that over the past six years in office Obama has not done enough to speak forcefully about voter disenfranchisement.
But in an interview with Diverse following Obama’s speech, Sharpton said that he thought the president set the right tone.
“I think that for the president of the United States to stand there and say that voting rights has now been more attacked than since 1965 is historic because the challenge was laid out by the leader of the free world,” said Sharpton. “Now the question is follow-up. We have to live up to the call.”
Obama criticized the efforts of some states to make voters produce identification cards when they enter polling booths. He said 60 percent of Americans don’t have passports.
