Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) outraged Republicans on Friday when he overturned a law dating back to the Civil War and awarded convicted felons – even violent ones – the right to vote.
The GOP is especially irked about the news because they know who McAuliffe’s friends are. The governor’s coziness with the Clintons suggests he is allowing felons to vote to ensure Hillary wins the important swing state this November. In fact, she praised the move on Twitter, congratulating McAuliffe on “breaking down barriers to voting.”
McAuliffe scoffed at the Republican backlash, telling the GOP to quit whining and start reaching out to the newly franchised demographic.
"Well, I would tell the Republicans, 'Quit complaining and go out and earn these folks' right to vote for you. Go out and talk to them,' " he said in response to a question about people saying his order was an election-year ploy to help Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
The governor is unlikely to convince anyone that he restored criminals’ right to vote to undo America’s “horrible history” of disenfranchising African-Americans, as he insists. The more likely scenario is that the Clintons helped him get elected in Virginia so he wants to return the favor in November.
As for the Republican candidates, they are earning Americans' right to vote – those who haven’t been behind bars.