Sunday, November 28, 2004

 

Instead Of George Wallace, The Alabama Christian Coalition Now Blocks The Schoolhouse Door



Yep, the Alabama Christian Coalition was among those publicly opposed to Amendment Two on the November 2nd ballot, which was designed to bring the Alabama Constitution into line with what we could charitably call the "post-apartheid world" (i.e., removing references to "white and colored children," as well as dismantling the state's expressly segregationist school system). However, the majority of Alabamians (those whose votes were counted, anyway) were having none of it.

They were helped in reaching that conclusion by the aforesaid ACC, as well as by "Judge" Roy Moore, who (fresh off his successes in pressing his views on church/state matters to the federal courts, and on his own fitness for office to his cohorts in the state judiciary) opined that proposed Amendment Two -- which would also have removed a clause declaring that Alabama does not guarantee a right to a public education (itself a last-minute, futile attempt to dodge the effects of Brown v. Board of Education) -- would permit "rogue" federal judges to order the state to raise its taxes to pay for its schools.

Granted, after Bush v. Gore, the idea of a federal court making such an incoherent and preposterous ruling can't be entirely dismissed out of hand, but such an outcome was highly unlikely -- apparently, though, it was enough to afford the ACC a "legal fig leaf" in their campaign against Amendment Two.

So, mark my words: In 2016, when the Miguel Estrada Court reverses Brown v. Board of Education, Ground Zero for "the new Pretoria" will be Alabama, whose Constitution still mandates segregated schools . . .

posted by Michael 8:59 PM