goofyfish
06-27-03, 07:53 AM
Jeff Milchen makes the interesting argument on Reclaim Democracy that Americans have no constitutionally protected right to vote.It’s true that the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to our Constitution refer to a right to vote in the course of prohibiting voting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or (adult) age, but those protections are hollow because all citizens may be disenfranchised (stripped of voting privileges) so long as it is done without bias. Voting is presently a privilege that may be granted or revoked at the discretion of government officials. (Full text here (http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/political_reform/right_to_vote.html))Milchen sounds convincing to me, but what do I know about universal voting rights? Nothing much, except that Republicans have a tendency gun them down on sight.
Take Alabama governor Bob Riley. Please.
Riley won the office by campaigning in the GOP’s autopilot mode: Cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes. But once he got into the governor’s mansion and took a look at the books, he realized he would instead have to raise taxes. His own party wouldn’t be of any help, but Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature after all. Only now it looks as if they’re not going to help him either, and all because he apparently can’t bear the thought of blacks voting. No Republican can forget that Al Gore might be president today if Jeb Bush hadn’t illegally purged thousands of blacks from the voting rolls.
And so:On Tuesday, Mr. Riley vetoed the prize legislation of the Legislature's Black Caucus, a long-sought bill that would have eased the restitution of voting rights to felons who have served their sentences. Now, black lawmakers are threatening to abandon Mr. Riley's tax plan in retaliation. (Full text here (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/national/26ALAB.html))The governor argued that keeping felons from the polls after they had completed their punishment was racially neutral because “Over the last four years, those convicted of felonies in Alabama were almost statistically evenly divided by race. Fifty-four percent were African-American, and 45 percent were white.” And that was good enough for me.
Until the Times reporter pointed out that the population of Alabama is 26 percent black and 71 percent white. Although my mathematical education was pretty much derailed by the sevens table, even I was able to keep my eye on the ball during this particular bit of numbers-juggling.
:m: Peace.
Take Alabama governor Bob Riley. Please.
Riley won the office by campaigning in the GOP’s autopilot mode: Cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes. But once he got into the governor’s mansion and took a look at the books, he realized he would instead have to raise taxes. His own party wouldn’t be of any help, but Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature after all. Only now it looks as if they’re not going to help him either, and all because he apparently can’t bear the thought of blacks voting. No Republican can forget that Al Gore might be president today if Jeb Bush hadn’t illegally purged thousands of blacks from the voting rolls.
And so:On Tuesday, Mr. Riley vetoed the prize legislation of the Legislature's Black Caucus, a long-sought bill that would have eased the restitution of voting rights to felons who have served their sentences. Now, black lawmakers are threatening to abandon Mr. Riley's tax plan in retaliation. (Full text here (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/national/26ALAB.html))The governor argued that keeping felons from the polls after they had completed their punishment was racially neutral because “Over the last four years, those convicted of felonies in Alabama were almost statistically evenly divided by race. Fifty-four percent were African-American, and 45 percent were white.” And that was good enough for me.
Until the Times reporter pointed out that the population of Alabama is 26 percent black and 71 percent white. Although my mathematical education was pretty much derailed by the sevens table, even I was able to keep my eye on the ball during this particular bit of numbers-juggling.
:m: Peace.