Slash and burn

Hand out leaflets? Yes. Put up yard signs? Yes. Get out the vote? Yes. Cut the opposing side's tires to try to limit turnout? No.

The Milwaukee County district attorney charged five Wisconsin Democrats today with criminal property damage, The Associated Press reports. The charges stem from an incident in which someone slashed the tires of 25 vans that the Republican Party rented to carry voters to the polls on Election Day. If the five are convicted of the felony, they could face penalties up to a $10,000 fine and three and a half years behind bars.

In my book, voter suppression and deception are two of the most despicable things anyone can do. Unfortunately, members of both of this country's major political parties have engaged in it in the past. This incident, if prosecutors prove their case, would rank as another sad example of just how low people are willing to go to try to get their candidate elected.

The Wisconsin Five are entitled to the presumption of innocence that our system affords them, but if they're convicted, they'll deserve whatever sentence is imposed. No one has the right to try to prevent registered voters from exercising their rights.