Well, it looks like Republican racists—not completely redundant, though it’s a shame that those Republicans who aren’t racist don’t have the courage to denounce those who are—won’t be able to derail passage of the Voting Rights Act. Although, naturally, they’re still trying to gut it:

Having quieted dissenting conservatives, House Republicans are trying again to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act in an election-year effort to win support from minority voters.

The story is that image, for the mid-terms, is everything:

The bill’s progress through Congress is considered by Republican leaders as one way to stem the damage to the party’s “big-tent” image among minorities watching the contentious debate over whether to grant most of the nation’s 12 million illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.

But you know? The only Republican “big tent” I’ve seen lately is Bush’s codpiece.

The real story is buried further down:

They got some firepower late Wednesday from big business — namely Tyco, Comcast, Disney and CBS Corp.

“Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act reinforces the importance we as a nation attach to each vote cast by every adult American,” CBS Corp. President and CEO Leslie Moonves wrote to congressional leaders. “I look forward to saluting you and your colleagues when this important task is successfully completed.”

In other words, our Corporate Overlords have decided that racism is bad for business.

Now, if we could just get them on board with making sure our electoral system were as strong as Mexico’s…. Or this global warming thing I keep hearing so much about…