Is the right to vote inherent in our democracy?
Bernie Sanders recently said that the “I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy, yes, even for terrible people.”
Nicholas Malino
Now, I don’t think that Bernie Sanders is the sharpest knife in the drawer, but why would anyone place this right ahead of all others?
The founders recognized at least three rights which we earned simply by being born with 26 human chromosomes: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We can take away a person’s freedom and lock them up (“liberty.”) We can take away someone’s right to follow their dreams by placing them in prisons and restricting their activities (“pursuit of happiness,”) and yes, we can even take their lives for some terrible transgressions and for the defense of society.
However, they never lose their right to vote? Why? It doesn’t make sense, that is, not until you realize that votes are a politician’s lifeblood.
By trying to follow such logic we get a glimpse into the mind of the typical, life-long, professional politician. Twist any logic, disregard any fact, ignore any reality, but don’t do anything to lose one vote. And Sen. Sanders, who may project the persona of a doddering old fool proffering ultra-egalitarianism and limitless altruism with OPM, is anything but, when it comes to the mechanics of getting elected. It is purely enlightened self-interest.
He knows that he and his party would have enormous support in the prison population. A large prison in a small county can change an area from deep red to bright blue and might even swing a state or two.
I wonder how Bernie would feel about criminals voting if they all entered prison carrying their own dogeared copy of “Atlas Shrugged” and wearing MAGA hats?
Nicholas Malino is a founding member of the Progressive Conservative Alliance and chairman of the Conservative Party of Connecticut. He is Managing Member of Tango Research, LLC a hedge fund in CT and NY. He has two books published on financial subjects.
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