U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, the last speaker living who addressed the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that – in effect -- frees Georgia from the toughest requirements of the Voting Rights Act:

“Today, the Supreme Court stuck a dagger into the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most effective pieces of legislation Congress has passed in the last 50 years. 

“These men never stood in unmovable lines.  They were never denied the right to participate in the democratic process.  They were never beaten, jailed, run off their farms or fired from their jobs. No one they knew died simply trying to register to vote.  They are not the victims of gerrymandering or contemporary unjust schemes to maneuver them out of their constitutional rights.

“I remember in the 1960s when people of color were the majority in the small town of Tuskegee, Alabama.  To insure that a black person would not be elected, the state gerrymandered Tuskegee Institute and the black sections of town so they fell outside the city limits.

“his reminds me too much of a case  that occurred in Randolph County in my own state of Georgia, when the first black man was elected to the board of education in 2002.  The county legislature changed his district so he would not be re-elected. 

“I disagree with the court that the history of discrimination is somehow irrelevant today.  The record clearly demonstrates numerous attempts to impede voting rights still exist, and it does not matter that those attempts are not as ‘pervasive, widespread or rampant’ as they were in 1965.  One instance of discrimination is too much in a democracy.

“As Justice Ginsberg mentioned, it took a Bloody Sunday for Congress to finally decide to fix on-going, institutionalized discrimination that occurred for 100 years after the rights of freed slaves were nullified at the end of the Civil War.  I am deeply concerned that Congress will not have the will to fix what the Supreme Court has broken.   I call upon the members of this body to do what is right to insure free and fair access to the ballot box in this country.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum: Gov. Nathan Deal said today that he expects federal lawmakers to bypass the debate over reviving Section 5 rather than try to reach a new agreement that will pass muster with both the divided Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I would suggest they have more important things to do, like fixing the Affordable Care Act, rather than dealing with this issue. This has obviously been an issue that has outlived its initial purpose,” he said.

He said the ruling removes a stigma that has long burdened local and state elected officials.

“This means their local county commissioners and board of elections don’t have to go to the Justice Department in Washington if they decide they want to move their voting precinct from one side to the other,” he said. “The unfortunate thing is sometimes local jurisdictions forgot they had to submit certain actions to the Justice Department.”

He also said it will put Georgia on equal footing with other states that have also faced nettlesome voting issues. He flashed a bit of emotion as he talked about voting concerns in other states that weren’t covered by the Voting Rights Act.

“If you want to look at abuses, there were abuses in other states that were not subject to Section 5 but unfortunately they didn’t get as much play as it would have if it happened in the South.”

More celebration came from Deal's spokesman, Brian Robinson, in three Twitter bursts:

-- In 06, working for Rep. Westmoreland, we correctly warned an arrogant Congress that parts of #vra wouldn't stand 25 more years. Told ya so!

-- Very proud of the year of work I did in 06 with @bptyson to lay the groundwork for this day when Section 5 ends! GA is now treated equally.

-- When Schumer supports preclearance for NY, we'll talk about it. We warned these guys in 06: UPDATE the formula.

Also worth noting: The U.S. Justice Department had put on hold its first nonpartisan elections for a consolidated Bibb County/Macon government, while it examined whether the timing of the vote was designed to coincide with patterns of low black voter turnout.

This morning, state Rep. Alan Peake (R-Macon) told 13WMAZ:

"With the formula struck, no one is subject to it," he wrote. "You can say with the formula struck down, Macon can proceed with elections."

But there are some Georgia Republicans who realize the danger of spiking the football, particularly for a party suffering from a lack of diversity. Consider this portion of a statement from U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville:

"Even in the divisive times we find ourselves in right now, Congress must find a way to come together, make smart decisions for the well-being of our citizenry, and rework the current formula to get it right. We call ourselves the freest country in the world, well it is time to start acting like it and put our own people before the politics.”