| The governor of Iowa,
Democrat Tom Vilsack, has come to the conclusion that he's not going to
permit something as inconsequential as the Iowa Constitution stand in
the way of furthering his own political agenda. If the
Constitution says "no," and the Legislature is thus prohibited from
taking action, then the Governor will simply dash off an Executive Order
to get around the darned thing. The
Iowa Constitution,
Art. II, §5, specifically
prohibits persons convicted of "infamous crimes" from being able to
vote. The Legislature, which had been asked to look into
legislation to restore the voting rights of ex-felons, had determined
that it lacked the authority under the state's constitution to do so.
A change in the state's constitution provision barring ex-felons from
voting would be the appropriate way to address the issue; although the
executive order end-run is necessary if the Dems believe (as they
probably do) that there isn't the support for a change.
Vilsack and other Iowan Democrats,
noting that since a greater percentage of Iowan minorities committed
crimes which led to the loss of their voting rights, a greater
percentage of minorities had lost their right to vote.
Accordingly, and in keeping with Liberal policy of turning all issues
into questions of race and ethnicity, determined that it wouldn't be
"fair" to hold them to the legal and constitutional consequences of
their actions. Said Vilsack: "Iowa has been a leader in civil
rights." Vilsack, however, failed to explain how a right
specifically not conferred by the Iowa Constitution, can
constitute a "civil right."
Vilsack's actions shouldn't come
as any surprise, at least not to anyone who had been paying attention to the
2000 or 2004 Presidential Elections in Florida, which also prohibits
felons from voting, even after released from prison. Remember the
"hoo-ha" over so-called massive disenfranchisement" of black voters in
Florida? Sure you do. But did you know that the alleged
"disenfranchisement" referred to black (and minority) voters who were
prohibited under Florida law from voting because of their status as
convicted felons? Of course you (probably) didn't. The Olde
Media is very reluctant to allow the facts to get in the way of a good
bit of race-baiting. Also keep in mind that ex-felons vote
overwhelmingly (by some 80% or more) for Democratic candidates.
Gov. Vilsack is only catering to his constituency.
Bias Watch:
The
New York Times in its
account omits any reference to the state's constitutional provision, or
the Legislature's inability to legislatively overcome the bar, thus
ignoring the governor's end-run around the Iowa Constitution. Same
with the
Los Angeles Times and
the
Des Moines Register.
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