(Amazon)
Donald Trump's campaign is known for having a number of flaws, such as failing to pay their bills. But that's not all; they also struggle to recognize irony. The latest example of that came this week when the campaign attacked Kamala Harris' running, mate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, for supporting a policy that protected a felon's right to vote. Where does irony enter that picture? Edith Olmsted, of The New Republic (TNR) explains under the headline "Trump’s Latest Attack on Kamala’s V.P. Pick Hilariously Backfires; Did Donald Trump just say he shouldn’t be allowed to vote?" Olmsted writes, with tongue slightly in cheek:
Donald Trump’s campaign is taking aim at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for backing a policy that gives convicted felons the right to vote, conveniently forgetting that their candidate is also a convicted felon.
Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement Tuesday decrying Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of “Radical Leftist Tim Walz” as her running mate.
Leavitt criticized Walz for “embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote,” as part of his obsession “with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide.”
As Minnesota governor, Walz signed a bill in June 2023 restoring the right to vote to more than 50,000 Minnesotans on parole, probation, or community release due to a felony conviction.
Despite Leavitt’s griping, Trump himself is the beneficiary of a policy allowing convicted felons to vote.
Does that men Trump staff members, and MAGA supporters, appear to have tin ears? It sure does, Olmsted reports:
Trump is currently still eligible to vote in Florida, where he is registered, because Florida election law says that he has that right so long as he is able to vote in the state where he was convicted. In New York state, a person is only disenfranchised while incarcerated, so unless Trump is sentenced to prison in his New York hush-money trial, he can still vote, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In an astounding feat of doublethink, Team Trump seems to want voters to be angry that convicted felons can vote, while simultaneously hoping that they’ll vote for a convicted felon—and that said convicted felon can vote for himself come November.
You might think Trump staffers, supporters, and Republican Party enablers would feel the occasional feeling of shame for supporting a convicted felon to hold the nation's highest office. But that doesn't seem to be the case; in fact, those bizarre circumstances don't seem to bother them at all. Does that mean Republicans have lost their sense of shame? The answer seems to be 'yessiree,
So, here is the situation: Republicans have foisted a convicted felon upon the public -- and he seeks not some back-of-the-closet position, but the highest position in the land. And he will be able to vote for himself come Noember -- no problemo.Meanwhile, Republicans attack Tim Walz, who has a distinguished record of supporting progressive measures that bolster human rights and support middle-class families. He also has a history of beating Republicans in rural districts where they historically have dominated. No wonder Republicans aren't comfortable with this dude. He has the "secret sauce" for beating Republicans in their own backyards, and he has used it successfully to forge a national reputation that has put him at the highest level of electoral politics in the U.S.
As for Republicans, I can see the billboards and yard signs now --
"Lost your sense of shame? Join us, and we'll show you why that doesn't matter one bit." The Republican;National Committee.
"Never had a sense of shame? We need to talk. You will feel right at home with us. The Republican National Committee"
