John Lewis: Eloquent warning

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., had a lot to say Thursday about the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be chief justice. It's worth reading in full, but here is a key comment that people who were too young to be involved in the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s need to remember (emphasis added) :

"I fear that if Judge Roberts is confirmed to be chief justice of the United States, the Supreme Court would no longer hear the people's cries for justice. I feel that the leadership of the court would promote politics over the protection of individual rights and liberties. If the federal courts had abandoned us in the civil rights movement, in the name of judicial restraint, we might still be struggling with the burden of legal segregation in America today. "