Eric Holder gave a speech yesterday in which he called for the automatic restoration of voting rights for felons once their sentences have been served. A few thoughts on this; I may write more depending on how seriously Mr. Holder’s dishonest speech appears to be taken.

He conveniently ignores the reason for felon disenfranchisement, namely that if you aren’t willing to follow the law, then you can hardly claim a role in making the law for everyone else, which is what you do when you vote. We have certain minimum, objective standards of responsibility, trustworthiness, and commitment to our laws that we require of people before they are entrusted with a role in the solemn enterprise of self-government.

For example, dressing up in costume, breaking into private property, stealing someone else's tea and throwing it into the harbor, then overthrowing the legally-enacted government. Those people shouldn't have been allowed to make laws for everyone else, right?

Oh, but he's probably talking about people who break just laws for ignoble reasons, right? Political protestors breaking laws in order to make a point are probably cool.