Earlier this month, I opined that the movement to grant felons the right to vote in all states is gathering momentum. Today, the Washington Post is jumping on the bandwagon  with an an op—ed by Kevin Krajick, who gets right to the point in the first paragraph, casting his principal argument in racial terms: the disproportionate criminality of African—American males amounts to racial discrimination in voting.

It gets worse. Denial of the franchise to felons leads to recidivism, doncha know. Krajick hits bottom near the end, when he avers,

To condemn millions to eternal political silence is to stab our democracy in the heart

and

Voting is not a privilege; it is the basic right that defines a citizen.

These statements are nonsense on a stick. Nobody is 'silencing' felons. They are free to express their views, once they leave prison. We just don't give them the vote, which is not at all the same thing as silencing them. And, if voting is a basic right, Mr. Krajick needs to cite the Constitutional provision which makes it so. If voting defines citizenship, then are children 17 and under not citizens? Does my 16 year old son need to turn in his American passport? He will be heartbroken to learn he is not a citizen.

The Washington Post should be ashamed to publish such shabby arguments.

Hat tip to Ed

Posted by Thomas   8  18 04