Why Voter Suppression is Un-conservative
There are all kinds of ethical and moral reasons why the wave of voter suppression in the US is wicked, but none of those are today’s subject. The practical, if cynical, reason all this stuff should be avoided is that it’s bad for business. Let me explain.
Stereotypes are an easy but dangerous way to handle social complexity. To be frank, as broadminded as we may try to be, we all caricature others. In our mind’s eye, all Australians are tall, tanned, and irreverent, just like Crocodile Dundee. Scots are thrifty, Latins are hot-headed, and Italians are great cooks. All Canadians wear tuques and red checkered lumberjack shirts, and live in igloos.
Sometimes stereotypes are kind of funny, and sometimes they can be leveraged to advantage. Nova Scotia, for example, plays on its Scottish heritage to the max. The bonnie wee lassie at the tourism counter looks so Gaelic in proud Nova Scotia tartan, notwithstanding that her name tag says “Schwartz”. It’s over the top, but it’s lovely, and it’s successful.
But stereotypes can as easily work against you, and that’s the problem for Georgia and such states which legislate against democracy. Most of us already have a mental image of such politicians as Good Ol’ Boys, like Boss Hogg of Dukes of Hazzard fame, catering to Deliverance-style hillbillies. Regressive politics simply reinforce the caricature.
Now, is this fair? Of course not. But if state legislators are dumb enough to pass caricature legislation, they ought not to feign outrage when business stays away or moves away. As every true conservative knows, you just can’t argue with the free flow of capital.