did the voting rights act, edward blum, do what it was passed to do in 1965?ank goodness it did. it ended the widespread and insidious acts of racial disenfranchisement throughout the deep south and elsewhere and it's a great testament to the evolution of our nation that the court today felt that the voting rights act had done its thing and was no longer necessary. i think that's a good thing for the country and i think it speaks well to the character of the american people. >> suarez: sherrilyn ifill, same question. >> the voting rights act has been called the crown jewel because it has been so effective. has it completed its work? by no means. that's why in 2006 when congress was looking at whether to reauthorization the voting rights act they went through almost a year of hearings and heard testimony and looked at racial discrimination and voting in this country. they amassed a 15,000 page record that demonstrated the ongoing problem of racial discrimination in voting in jurisdictions throughout this country and, of course, the 15th amendment to the constit

what is not widely known is that the case was spearheaded by a man named edward blum, a former stockbroker he recruited fisher after a long search for a stew and that could challenge affirmative action in court. he came across her because she happens to be the daughter of one of his friends. backed by a secret white ring group, he has ensured that wealthy right-wing donors are covering her legal bills. in this bill from 2008, he makes an open appeal for texas students to join his cause against affirmative action. >> this student here in houston, and thousands throughout the state of texas, have been unfairly punished after ut decided to reintroduce a race-based affirmative action. it is time for them to stop. i encourage all high-school students who have been rejected utnotfair.org.t tell us your story. if you were rejected, we want your story, and we want to try to help you. >> according to reuters, edward blum has launched at least a dozen lawsuits against race- based protections in the united states, including the challenge to the voting rights act, which the supreme court could decide

is a lot of legal analysis going on about this case about people that have written about it like edward blumas on miss fisher's legal's team. they believe they are going to have a difficult time to pass justice kennedy's test. there will be move away, unless there is wave of litigation. >> paul: that is not a universal view, they think justice kennedy he is the swing vote on these cases. he missed one of his last opportunities to make a firm, clear declaration on racial preferences. >> are racial preferences constitutional? justice thomas pointed this out. problem here with the baby steps the harm that racial preferences are doing to the intended beneficiary. we have a lot of research showing that it is hurting black graduation rates. instead of going to school, it hurts the number of black scientists and doctors we get because kids are going into fields where it's easier to graduate because of the school system. there is actual harm being done. it's not just about equal protection. the intended beneficiaries of these policies are being damaged by these policies. >> paul: what do you think?

there is a lot of legal analysis going on about this case by people that have written about it, edward blumho was on -- fisher's legal team. they think that a lot of these universities are really going to have a difficult time passing justice kennedy's test, there will be a move away, less they face a way of litigation of this course not universal view, though. a lot of people think, well, justice kennedy, 76 years old, swing vote on these cases. she missed -- hit one of the last opportunities to really make a firm clear deck la ration on racial preference. >> racial preferences constitutional. that's the question we immediate decided. justice thomas gets this. pointed this out. the problem here -- with the baby steps is the harm that racial preferences are doing to the intended beneficiaries. we have -- lot of new remember search showing that -- it is hurting black graduation rates and kids sent to school with -- less likely to graduate instead of going school so they can succeed. it hurts the number of black scientists and doctors that we get because kids are going at the field where it i

. >> the group you are talking about, the role of the edward blum. >> he runs the project on fair representation. he is a conservative that lost a seat in congress. he believes he was the victim of unfair racial gerrymandering that was mandated by the voting rights act, so that he devoted his life to lessening the use of race in public policy. he founded the project on fair representation with the help of the american enterprise institute in 2005 to challenge a 2006 reauthorization voting act. approvedoverwhelmingly it. marden that we do not see on anything today. blum lost in congress, he decided to go to the courts. when roberts became chief justice, he knew that he had an ally in the court. >> let's go to the exchange with chief justice roberts. >> do you know which state has the worst ratio of white voter turnout to african-american turnout? massachusetts. do you know who has the best, were african-american turnout exceeds white turnout? mississippi. >> yes, but congress recognizes expressly in the findings would reauthorize the act in 2006, that the first generation problems had been largel