John Lewis probably dashed a few political hopes Tuesday, saying that he intends to run for Congress again next year.
"I plan to continue to serve," Lewis told a luncheon audience at the Atlanta Press Club. "I'm not in any ways tired."
The 71-year-old lawmaker, who has served the Georgia's 5th District since 1987, will see the district redrawn this summer. Over the past decade, the 2010 census found, it has has experienced a significant out-migration of Lewis' predominantly African American base.
Asked about what redistricting will look like, with the GOP fully in control under the Gold Dome, Lewis reminded his listeners -- and perhaps those drawing the new lines -- that the U.S. Justice Department can intervene to protect the voting strength of racial and ethnic minorities.
"It is my hope that we will be mindful, watchful and careful to carry out the spirit of the Voting Rights Act of 1965," he said.
The Press Club invited the civil rights icon to speak on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Freedom Riders. In addition to telling stories from those momentous days, he took the occasion to touch on a number of political issues, from reapportionment to attempts to scale back Medicare to Georgia's new immigration laws. Along the way he got in a careful, if not particularly veiled, dig at the tea party.
"I try to stay away from drinking tea," he said, responding to a question. "People have a right to choose whether they drink tea or coffee. If you cannot say something good about somebody, just don't say anything."
He called recent Georgia immigration laws "wrong," and said it was a "shame, and a disgrace" that an impasse in Congress has left two federal judge positions open in Georgia's Northern District.
Lewis also offered an unsolicited rebuke to GOP budget writers who have introduced bills that would restrict spending for Medicaid and replace Medicare with vouchers that the elderly could use to purchase private insurance.
"They're using this deficit as an excuse to tell the most needy that there is no room in the inn," Lewis said, "all while giving the nation's most affluent a discount."
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