"...Felons are usually Democrats. As (John) Lott notes: "Michael Milken, Martha Stewart and Leona Helmsley share something in common besides being convicted felons — they are all Democrats. While their wealth sets them apart from the typical felon, their party registration is the same as most former convicts."
I believe this point was subtly highlighted when Willie Horton told the press in 1988 that of course he supported Michael Dukakis for president. "According to academic studies," Lott says, "from 1972 to 1996, on average, 80 percent of felons would have voted Democratic. An overwhelming 93 percent ostensibly would have voted for Bill Clinton in 1996."
This is not because, as you might imagine, blacks have high crime rates and also happen to be overwhelmingly Democratic. Lott compares the voting patterns of felons and nonfelons, controlling for race, age, education level, religious habits, employment, age and country of residence. Wholly apart from all these factors, felons were still more likely to vote Democratic. Indeed, in the 2004 election, Lott says, felons in Washington state "voted exclusively for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry."
When first visiting Sicily, I had a long chat or three with an old and wizened gentleman who'd been there, done that. As a retired entrepreneur, he bemoaned the times when more Conservative politicians would rise to power, because they invariably cracked down on crime and business went south. "You back the liberals with alla the cash you can find," he'd tell anyone who'd listen, "They always wanna rehabilitate not incarcerate. Shed a few tears, say how sorry you are, then go about the business as usual. We and them are peas in a pod anyway; always looking to play the angle, make the easy score. Good businessmen call it cutting corners. Conservative bastards call it crime."
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