Felonious Friends and Foes
I had several things I could have written about this week. But then there was the elephant in the room: A former president convicted on 34 felony counts.
I’ve had friends who were convicted of felonies. And while I can’t say for certain that I would vote for any of them for president, there’s at least one to whom I sometimes entrust my well-being. Someone who kept me buoyant after losing my husband and my mother to the grim reaper. Someone who came on a moment’s notice to haul me to the emergency room when I couldn’t get there on my own. The point is, being convicted of a felony doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be a good person.
This particular ex-felon of whom I speak is an Arkansawyer who was convicted long ago, served his sentence, and has since done his best to be a good citizen—doing good deeds, paying attention to what’s going on in the world, and voting. Because once his sentence was completed, his right to vote was reinstated.
At least until our current governor was elected. When Sanders took office, my felonious friend’s rights were suddenly curtailed. He can no longer vote. Even though he’s been voting for years—post conviction. And he’s not alone. Apparently ex-felons across the state received such notices.
Yet Sarah Huckabee Sanders publicly supports a convicted felon for president (might even consent to be his running mate?). A double standard.
Yes, yes, I know. Sanders believes the Hush Money trial was “a politically motivated sham trial.” But hear me out:
The point of a jury trial is to allow a team of everyday citizens—selected by attorneys from both sides of the argument—to hear the facts of the case and conclude the defendant’s guilt or innocence based on those facts. Those of us who weren’t in the courtroom really ought not express an opinion. Neither before the outcome, nor after.
Unless we hold some hard-core proof of people tampering with the evidence or the jury.
Yet swarms of public figures, including elected officials like Sanders, are badmouthing court officials, the jury, the judicial system, and even the current U.S. president for what they proclaim is a faulty verdict in this recent trial. If any of them have proof of wrongdoing, I unequivocally hope they bring it to light in effort to preserve the sanctity of our legal system. But lacking such evidence, badmouthing the outcome of a high-profile court proceeding is not only an awful look for a democracy, but shakes its very foundation.
It is Sanders’ perfect right to support a convicted felon in his bid for the U.S. presidency, and even consent to be his running mate if he should ask. But when the chief officer of the state of Arkansas finds one felon suitable to hold office—arguably the most powerful post in the world—while other felons aren’t even allowed to cast their ballots, she’s on shaky ground, indeed.
Whether or not Sanders believes our ex-president was wrongly convicted is beside the point. As it stands, he is a convicted felon, and Sanders’ slip is showing—the slip of her principles.
But at last I’ve found something Sarah Huckabee Sanders and I have in common: Some of our best friends are felons. But I support my friends’ right to vote—even if they live in Arkansas.