Right to Vote going to the voters in 2006
The right to vote legislation has passed, technically. The amendment was typographically adjusted by the House so it must return back to the Senate in the coming days/weeks. I'm not going to say 'This is a great win for democracy.' and definitely not, 'The General Assembly is the bastion of civil rights ideals. I thank them.' Too often when proponents of legislation either a) win or b) lose they come out with regurgetated statements that have little meaning and tell us nothing about the merits of the situation. What I will say is this: I had confidence that the General Assembly would pass this legislation. In essence, it's a no lose situation for them. They pass it, they're heroes to the liberal throngs. They pass it, they don't have to take responsibility for actually agreeing that former felons should have the right to vote. "No, all they are interested in is allowing the average Rhode Islander to have their say." That's why I was confident this would pass and through much effort of people like Marshall Clement and Andres Idarraga, it has. But I had confidence in something else, that hasn't quite panned out the way I thought. I honestly believed, and still do, that the Governor should have jumped on board this democracy train as soon as the words 'casino' had stopped echoing in our brains. "...casino...jobs...sucking life out of RI....money driving, away..." Sorry, guess the echo is still there. Anyway, this Governor needs a 'civil rights' issue and this is about as safe as you can get. Logic: People living in our community of voting age have the right to vote. Period. End of Story. But perhaps the Governor remains on the sidelines in order to position himself for 2006 based upon his challenger. Ok, I can live with that politically speaking. Yet, I think the better political move would be to endorse this effort strongly to ensure his opponent cannot use this referendum as his issue. But, what do I know? I'm not a 'political insider' nor a 'special interest group'. I'm just an average Rhode Islander with some commen sense.
posted by Ruminator at
6/24/2005 11:34:00 AM
2 Comments:
The governor is aware of the right to vote issue as well as his staff whom I think are supportive of the issue.
"If you're suggesting by "they don't have to take responsibility for actually agreeing that former felons should have the right to vote" that they are pandering to the religious base that supports so many of them, then I agree with you"
If I understand you correctly, you seem to be saying that there is a religious base that would not support the right to vote effort. Is this correct? If so, then most churches that we've connected with are in favor of this legislation (mine included). I'm more suggesting that Dems, who are in-practice Republicans, were safe in voting for this legislation because they aren't actually voting in favor of the content; instead, they are voting to bring the discussion to the table. At least, that's how I'd spin it.
The AP reported that the gov opposes felon voting:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/07/05/governor_eyes_assisted_living_reform_several_pending_bills?mode=PF
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