History repeating itself?

I've been wondering: Will the Supreme Court's recent voting rights decision be seen as this era's equivalent of the Hayes-Tilden compromise of 1877--a signal to bitter-end racists that it's okay to begin rolling back the gains in racial equality of the last few decades?

It certainly begins to look that way, as Texas and other Southern states rush to enact new obstacles to the ballot. That the bitter-enders remain unreconstructed has been evident in the virulence of the most extreme opposition to Barack Obama over the length of his presidency. There's principled opposition, and then there's fearmongering and simple hatred.

It will be important to watch these developments over the months and years ahead, to see where the high court's decision leads us.