Posted on 11/21/2017 4:04:18 PM PST by jazusamo
WASHINGTON Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that all felons should have the right to vote.
Im for allowing people who are incarcerated to have the right to vote. Why not? Theyre citizens. No matter what theyve done, and Im not defending any of their conduct, but all of it wasnt bad but all Im saying is expanding the vote and eliminating structural barriers is critical, Conyers said at this months annual Legislative & Policy Conference organized by Al Sharptons National Action Network (NAN) on Capitol Hill.
Its not an exaggeration to say that were in a battle for the soul of this nation. What we do is going to affect, not only us, but a lot of people around the world, he added. And every day in the courts and in Congress, issues are raised to determine what it means to be an American and what your rights are. Well, we want all of our rights, not some of them.
Conyers, who made the comments before news broke of sexual harassment complaints and a settlement involving the lawmaker, said Congress should take action to eliminate strict voter identification laws at the state level and enact other reforms.
Make Election Day a national holiday. We shouldnt have to do this in between work or hope we can get off work or not get paid. We want a paid holiday for those who are working, Conyers said. We want to extend voting hours and increase early voting days.
Conyers urged progressives to remain committed to expanding the right to vote.
In the area of voting rights protections, the Justice Department has literally changed sides since the new administration has come in. They are throwing out some of the modest progress that was beginning to be made. And so weve got a lot to do. Voter suppression is now a policy objective of this administration, he said.
The myth that voter fraud is rampant and our elections infiltrated by undocumented immigrants continues to be used as a pretext for state legislatures across the country to make it harder for minorities to vote, the congressman added. The real objective is to achieve a cynical partisan political outcome. Researchers have found that the laws have a dramatic and discouraging effect on minority turnout.
Last year, Conyers introduced the Voter Restoration Act that would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, by prohibiting states from disqualifying individuals convicted of criminal offenses from voting in federal and local elections, and from registering to vote, with the exception of those convicted of murder, manslaughter, or sex crimes.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argued that Republicans are using the right to vote as a tool of oppression.
Make no mistake, the right to vote is under attack. A right-wing Supreme Court guts voting rights. State legislators ram through voting suppression laws and a so-called election integrity commission wants the states to turn over voters birth dates and Social Security numbers think about that. We will defend the right to vote, Warren said at the conference.
We will not add one penny of support and not one ounce of legitimacy to President Trumps so-called election commission. We will not, she added. We will pass a new Voting Rights Advancement Act and we will demand legislation to protect every citizens right to vote.
Not at all. To the extent that any individual subscribes to the tenets of Conservatism, welcome aboard! You are though, ignoring realities of where we are today. I don't accept that blacks must vote liberal, but the vast majority of them do, and in so doing, they are ruining our country, and I am not going to give them a pass for their actions that contravene those same Conservative values you mention.
It's interesting that you mention turning 10% of Blacks to Conservatism, because years ago that theory was brought out in a slightly different context. Realizing that Blacks were disadvantaged by being new to Western Civilization, it was postulated that if ten percent of Blacks could achieve success, that they would “show the road” to the rest. And there is no question but that a goodly number of Blacks have achieved success, but they have characteristically NOT USED THEIR GOOD FORTUNE TO HELP THE LESS FORTUNATE MEMBERS OF THEIR ETHNIC GROUP. Actually, the converse has been shown to be largely true. It's like the conundrum law enforcement faces. They know that their safety depends upon correctly assessing their situation and acting accordingly. Any cop who engages a Black does so with trepidation based on statistics and not on the individual, and while that's sad that he does, it's reality. My daughter dates a man who is mixed race, and he looks African. She tells me about how he's mistreated (he has a masters degree in Engineering from a major university) when they are out in public. But he understands that his treatment is based on the broader statistic that says people like him are more likely to present a problem. So I am all for a plan that fixes this problem, but I don't see one on the horizon any time soon. In fact, thanks to eight years of Obama, the situation has become demonstrably worse, and it's thanks to his policies and pronouncements.
Hey Conyers...
I hear there’s a job opening in Zimbabwe... You’ll fit right in.
>Congress can’t pass a law (at least not a valid one) which >forces states to let felons vote. The 14th amendment protects >the states on this matter.
>That was initially designed to allow Reconstruction >governments to deny the vote to white Southerners who had >supported the Confederacy.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx
Wouldn't have anything to do with the high number of black males who are incarcerated, right? /s
Something tells me that they, the Left, are worried about something. They must be getting some info, from somewhere ro someone, that’s telling them that things aren’t looking too good for them down the road.
But, you’d think a guy that paid off women, in sums small enough that they weren’t flagged by the $10,000 rule, would have other priorities. But, he’s a Dem and thinks he’s make of teflon. Old guys like him are too arrogant to realize that their are a whole bunch of younger folks that would love to see him go the way of the, dodo, so they can get a chance.
He also had some help with convicted felons, which is what brought about the discovery of some more ballots, once it became public that the felons had voted. The Dem’s were able to stall long enough to find the missing ballot box. If memory serves me correctly.
Question...
A guys does 10 years for Manslaughter, only because he took a plea from the murder charge and saved the county money on a trial and got a lighter sentence, and he should have all rights returned to him the day he walks out of the penitentiary? 2nd Amendment rights as well?
That’s a pretty damn good idea. Especially since the onus is on them to keep clean and take the steps necessary, which most, if not all, won’t do.
I’d thrown in there, that the only people allowed to vote are the property and business owners, as they’re the ones paying the large majority of the taxes and lose out the most, when certain demographics vote themselves goodies from guy’s like Conyers.
If you can’t trust him with his rights, the problem is with the sentence.
I look forward to the day when putting a person on the street, while denying him under color of law, an otherwise constitutionally protected right to obtain and carry a lawful means of self defense, is regarded as an act of barbarous cruelty on a par with flinging a paralytic into the deep end of a swimming pool without a flotation device.
Good news. With Trump in the White House, the needed cleaning up after the Obama era has begun.
Why?
They made bad decisions that led them to prison. Why would their choices in voting be any better?
Oh. Right. They’ll vote Democrat, the Part of Evil.
Sounds like he’s laying plans for his future......b/c when Americans get the full story on his activities in Congress, he’s going to be a felon, himself.
That of course would include his wife who is currently in Prison.
ROTFLOL. Nice try- Conyers is channeling Obama, Clinton and the Cherman prison guard.......all at the same time.
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Too bad for Conyers....he left an evidentiary paper trail WRT the shakedown of taxpayers to cover-up his crimes. In the public sector, his activities are prosecuted as serious crimes .........but elected officials are held to a higher standard. Crimes being committed by individuals elected to make our laws command a greater punishment.
Taxpayers demand the evidence be made public immediately.
The victims also have documents and non-disclosure agreements....and vile memories of this man.....that should be brought forth. They should not hesitate b/c America is on their side.
ACTION NOW Contact your Representative and Senators
Capitol Switchboard 1-866-220-0044
Only for who their cellmate will be. :>)
Purging the swamp has such a nice ring to it.
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