Marching Backward From Selma on Right to Vote: Michael Waldman

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker sparked a ruckus, of course, by stripping public-sector workers of most collective-bargaining rights. More quietly, and with possibly equal ramifications, Republican lawmakers in Madison and other state capitals are trying to muscle through rules making it harder for millions of citizens to vote.

Americans have always battled over the ballot. Since the republic was formed when only white men with property could vote, we have widened the circle of democracy, in fits and starts, to include blacks and women. Now, for the first time in a century we see a swift, seemingly coordinated drive to actually shrink voting rights. Consider the past two weeks of startling events.