ABSTRACT
In 1985, when Ronald Reagan nominated William Bradford Reynolds for promotion to associate attorney general, the major civil rights groups used the confirmation hearings to voice their criticism of the administration's voting rights policies. The voting case that received the greatest attention during these hearings concerned New Orleans. Since 1912 New Orleans had sent two representatives to Congress. In 1962 challenge to Hale Boggs, the Democratic congressman from New Orleans' Second District, David C. Treen received only 32 percent of the vote. The New Orleans case gave Senator Joseph R. Biden that opportunity. Opinions differ concerning the importance of the New Orleans case. The focus on voting rights in general, and the New Orleans case in particular, also enabled Biden to mend fences with black leaders that had been miffed by Biden's opposition to forced busing for racial integration. This was something that had to be accomplished before Biden could make his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988.
