Calling our legal minds...
Anyone out there know the laws in Connecticut regarding restoring voting rights after criminal proscecution? The reason I ask, is that my buddy Martha Stewart has been very political lately and I wonder if she'll be able to vote in a primary or in the general election. She's had Bill Clinton and Bill Bradley on her show recently. The day after the New Hampshire Primary she was just over the moon about Senator Clinton's success. She has said more than once that any of the Democratic candidates would be superb and much better than the Republicans.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Martha's poltical leanings - take a look at her contribution records. It's a good thing.
Comments (22)
I think you can apply for a pardon after the length of your maximum potential sentence or something, but regardless, her money and exposure - way more important than her vote.
I heart Martha and all her craziness. This article discusses Connecticut felons and voting rights. Looks like the answer is yes, she can vote.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E7DC143AF936A25756C0A9679C8B63
In the article linked in the comment above there appears this excerpt:
The report included analyses of how presidential and United States Senate elections between 1972 and 1998 would have been affected if felons in various states could have voted after leaving prison.
''In every case, the Democratic candidate was hurt by disenfranchisement,'' Professor Uggen said. He added that ''the votes the Democrats lost would have been enough to overturn'' victories by Republican Senate candidates in Virginia, Texas, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.
Georgia is mentioned, what Senate race could he possibly be talking about?
Probably talking about the '80 Senate race when Mattingley beat Talmadge.
Wow. A convicted felon for insider trading whose actions hurt many americans wallets is someone who is good for Clinton and is someone who keeps good company with Hillary?
Could she get any slimier? Could she be trusted any less than she is?
Who knows! November is a long way away!
Gag me.
Odd that she gave $1,000 to Indiana Republican Congressman Dan Burton one year.
actually, martha was NOT convicted on insider trading charges. look it up.
IRE. You are on very thin ice.
-Ms Stewart has been contributing to Democrats (not just the Clintons) for many years.
-She served her time.
Your unending vicious criticism on Senator Clinton is becoming very tiring. Is it Senator Obama you want us to like? Then please tell us why. Your ugliness toward Clinton is backfiring.
And besides all that, I'm a big fan of Martha Stewart, in part because of her consistent and generous support of Democrats. But, also because I think she's amazing.
You are right just conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and making false statements to federal investigators
But who cares about that right?
Good god don't even try to make excuses for this...
DG, that is odd.
So, IRE, what is Ms Stewart supposed to do? She served her time, paid her fines.
It should be noted that convicted felons IN GEORGIA can have their voting and handgun rights restored. Yes, it's true. Convicted felons have the right to vote in Georgia.
The PROBLEM is that most convicted felons could give two shits about voting and don't bother re-applying at the SOS's office for the restoration of their rights.
She can do whatever she wants.
This is just more of the clintonian **** we will have to deal with.
Thats the clintons! Always paradigms of virtues! Always trustworthy!
Don't forget, this is not the first experience Clinton has had with shady donors THIS RACE. Once is too damn many.
Oh, and Bill has a wonderful history of fundrasing too.
We got this JJ thing tonight...kind of a big deal, I'll put a 48 hour moratorium on speaking ill of candidates...
See everyone there!
And I will be in good cheer and spirits (and in spirits) no matter who you support!
Timeout - I like Martha just fine. I think she got hosed in this deal. Especially compared to how little time some of the crooked CEOs got for doing much worse.
Can you people just let me concentrate on my salad!
I thought at the time that the rush to put her on trial had more to do with her being a Democrat in good standing than the 45,000 ImClone stock trade. I wasn't sure of the time line, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and noticed that the 1,000 she contributed to republican Dan Burton was early 2002 and came after the the ImClone deal which happened in late 2001.
Hate to prolong this, but...
My point about the insider trading charges is that the prosecution knew they could not get those charges to stick, so (like sndeak and bezerko alluded to), they threw everything else they could think of at her because she was a high profile, liberal, powerful female (yeah, I said it). While I recognize she did something wrong, she also received harsher treatment than someone else in the same position. Prosecutorial "discretion" and all that.
Really though, I don't think you want to bring the wrath of the Martha fans down on your head. We're slightly more fanatical than the Clay Aiken fans, and we know how to use glue guns.
Yo Inner, don't make me get medieval on your ass with grapevine,handmade dried fruit and raffia it won't be pretty.
this is shaping up to be a martha stewart v norm abram matchup!
This is gonna get good...
:)
so you don't get the wrong idea, i should mention that i also know my way around a power tool or two. :)
oooh I love my Dewalt belt sander!
Just a friendly word of advice...
Before we use any power tools, let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these — safety glasses.