"One man-one vote": Not so fast! Republicans seek to prevent New Orleans evacuees from voting in other parishes...

Today, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports, Legislators charge racism in N.O. election bill, 23 members of the black caucus walked out in protest of the Legislature's failure to pass a bill to allow New Orleans evacuees to vote in the up-coming New Orleans election by voting in other locations in Louisiana. The black legislators correctly called this unconscionable failure "blatant racism."

Republican Rep. Charles Lancaster of Metairie led the racist assault on black Louisiana voters.

The US military and US observers have been sent to foreign countries to ensure that the American concept of "one man-one vote" is successfully exported. He established special polling places in the US to ensure that Iraqi expatriates were allowed to vote in recent Iraqi elections. Yet, in our own country, we deny the vote to black citizens who were dispersed after hurricane Katrina.

We have seen a similar racist behavior here in Lafayette Parish, where the City-Parish Council has eagerly participated in maneuvers to frustrate black residents. Indeed, the plantation-mentality is alive and well.