As Twitchy reported earlier Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham took 2020 front-runner Bernie Sanders to the woodshed after he revealed during a CNN town hall Monday night that, yes, he’d favor letting felons vote from prison. Even the Boston Marathon bomber? Sure, why not?
Graham even followed up with a zinger from his home state:
I look forward to hearing his explanation — in South Carolina — why Dylan Roof should be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 23, 2019
It took a while for Sanders to answer Graham on why he’d consider letting rapists, murderers, and terrorists vote from prison, but in the end, he pulled the race card.
Seeing as Dylann Roof is white and a white supremacist and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was born in Kyrgyzstan, it’s a bit of a dodge that Sanders says he considers it voter suppression that most prisoners are black. Um, white felons don’t get to vote either.
South Carolina has a higher incarceration rate than any country on Earth. African Americans are 27% of the state population but 60% of the prison population. Our racist criminal justice system disenfranchises millions. This is quite simply voter suppression. https://t.co/2AxNzPgb6M
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 23, 2019
Okay, now answer his question. https://t.co/foV9In80qe
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) April 23, 2019
It's staggering how quickly the same conservatives who say they want to protect constitutional rights demand those same rights get taken away from those who they disapprove of.
— BCbudinTO (@Bcbudinto) April 23, 2019
“Those they disapprove of” … like rapists, murderers, and terrorists. You found us out … conservatives disapprove of people who set off pressure cooker bombs in large crowds and shoot people as they attend church. Heck, even Pete Buttigieg is guilty of that.
Is voting a human right?
— Adriel Hampton (@adrielhampton) April 23, 2019
No.
Felony = loss of voting rights. PERIOD. Voting is a privilege not a right. Driving is a privilege not a right. And felons while in prison most certainly should not be voting while in prison. There are consequences for bad decisions. Quit pandering!
— allimama7 (@amdenijs7) April 23, 2019
Going to jail for breaking the law and voter suppression…how are those things even mentioned together? We all have the same law codes to obey.
— Joseff J B Smith (@JoseffJBSmith) April 23, 2019
There’s an important loophole we’re all forgetting about. Turns out you don’t go to jail if you don’t comit a crime.
— Matthew Grigajtis (@FloridaDataNerd) April 23, 2019
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Completely colorblind statement.
— Freud (@pvfreud) April 23, 2019
That’s quite a stretch sir.
— Tina Smit (@TinaSmit1) April 23, 2019
Would you happen to have the statistics as to the total number of crimes committed for both demographics and if they reflect number of repeat offenders of each demographic? A link to it concerning your statistics would be helpful for this argument.
— Steve Johnson (@_SteveJohnson) April 23, 2019
Ever think maybe they just commit more crime???
— Dawn (@KewlKittyRoom) April 23, 2019
May it’s because they do about 60% of the crime?
— Alex Wood (@gtpwoody) April 23, 2019
What if Black people in South Carolina committed more crimes? Wouldn't that explain it?
But nooo…
That's never the answer.
It's always racism. lol.
There is never a reasonable explanation. It is ALWAYS racism.
You are all being fooled. Media programming.#ClownWorld
— Joe Sokol (@TheRealJoeSokol) April 23, 2019
Hahahahahaha!
Being arrested for criminal activity = voter suppression.
— raebeth (@raechelle_b) April 23, 2019
Wow. Way to ramp up the identity politics there comrade. Almost like you think your voters aren't smart enough to look up the reasons for your cherry picked statistics. Like the fact that people of color commit around 60 percent of the crime there, which isn't racism, it's stats.
— Tyler Pelton (@eastcodiesel) April 23, 2019
Maybe if you looked at the crime stats instead of race baiting you hopeless lying old syphilitic Bolshevik… you'd get you answer.. Black Americans simply commit more crimes, sad, but true..
They aren't being singled out you idiot..
You may now go lie about something else..
— Mark81150 , Defenders of the Force. (@MarkEdwards1959) April 23, 2019
Did they commit a crime? Then at that point race doesn't matter. If you are a criminal then you belong in jail. You are an idiot. And you are ok with murderers voting from jail. Or for rapist voting on women's rights from jail. You are a sad little man. #TermLimits
— Dennis (@DennisPVegas) April 23, 2019
Now do Vermont ? @shaunking
— 2nPac (@2nPac) April 23, 2019
So the fact that there is a 2:1 ratio between imprisonment rate and percentage of Black population in South Carolina is terrible huh?
Well in Vermont, Black people are just 1.1% of the population but 8.5% of the prison population 8:1.
— The Real Jack Lindell (@mydogleonard) April 23, 2019
Let these inmates come live with you
— Lisa (@beachbod76) April 23, 2019
He has more houses than he can live in at one time.
If that is voter suppression then you need to give every person in jail a gun!! You don’t have a right to take away their 2nd amendment right. They deserve to have guns in prison!! It’s their constitutional right and you are suppressing their rights. How dare you do that!!
— Jason Hoppen (@jasonhoppen) April 23, 2019
Dude it's bad when you start looking to prisons for votes. Give it up! You've literally made a living running for president and since you've never been able to get enough legal votes, you're at the all time low of trying to get prisoner votes ?♂️
— Chris Ames (@whiteguyactual) April 23, 2019
I disagree, it’s being raised in poverty and then being forgotten as long as they vote democrat. We need to give them the same opportunities as every other community. Education and jobs. Voter suppression is a farce. Stop dumbing down society.
— LG (@logrotwinmom) April 23, 2019
Bernie, you lost me!
— marlene richman (@marlene15) April 23, 2019
Sen. Sanders is a lunatic and comments like this prove it. He should be a waste of our time, but too many Americans have propped this kook up as a legitimate candidate, yet again. Common sense should override his candidacy, but it is left out.
— Gary Pike (@garycp70) April 23, 2019
You’d be stunned how many of Bernie’s followers thought this was a brilliant response.
In Trump we trust and we will vote in 2020 ???
— fabrizio pepe (@fabripep) April 23, 2019
Related:
Dropped on his HEAD?! Lindsey Graham takes Bernie Sanders to the SHED for supporting felons voting from prison https://t.co/b4YJiKXyLe
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 23, 2019
Join the conversation as a VIP Member