While many Democrats are caught up in protesting, combating, and resisting the madness unleashed by a Republican Party hellbent on playing “follow the raving loon” seated in the oval office, we must also be preparing for the upcoming midterm elections of 2018. Organized efforts to take back the House, make inroads into the Senate, and change the balance of power in Republican-controlled state legislatures will be key. On-the-ground work to get more Democrats registered to vote and to the polls, thwarting voter suppression, and targeting unjust laws that prevent groups of people—many of whom are black or ethnic minorities—from voting at all are a crucial part of what Democrats need to do to save this nation in the years ahead.
I get pretty pissed off when I hear people dismiss the rights of those who have been convicted of felonies, and as a result have lost the right to vote—for life. The stigma thrown at "criminals," "ex-cons,” "felons,” and ”jail-birds” who are stereotyped and portrayed as sub-human thugs who shouldn’t have the same rights as “upstanding citizens” (read: white folks) makes me wanna holler. One of the people loudly pushing these smears has been Donald Trump.
Nine out of 10 of my male friends and kin have been busted—for something or other—during their lifetimes. The criminal injustice system has a long history of incarcerating my brothers (and increasingly, my sisters) and slapping them with far harsher sentences than whites who commit the same offenses—if they get a sentence at all.
These data from The Sentencing Project should give you pause:
A striking 6.1 million Americans are prohibited from voting due to laws that disenfranchise citizens convicted of felony offenses. Felony disenfranchisement rates vary by state, as states institute a wide range of disenfranchisement policies. The 12 most extreme states restrict voting rights even after a person has served his or her prison sentence and is no longer on probation or parole; such individuals in those states make up over 50 percent of the entire disenfranchised population.2) Only two states, Maine and Vermont, do not restrict the voting rights of anyone with a felony conviction, including those in prison.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2nZiDI9
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment