Instpundit and Law Professor Glenn Reyolds has some advice for the Democrats. Some of his suggestions are well-taken. The Democrats need a message other than Bush-bashing, and a platform. Glenn suggests, among other things, lowering the drinking age to 18 to catch the younger voters.

We have another suggestion. Once they've paid their debt to society, allow those with felony convictions to vote. Consider this from an op-ed today in the Los Angeles Times by Christopher Uggen, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, and Jeff Manza, an associate professor of sociology and political science at Northwestern University:

Some form of felon disenfranchisement exists in 48 of the 50 states. Only two — Maine and Vermont — allow all people convicted of a felony to vote, including those in prison. At the other extreme, 11 states disenfranchise some or all felons indefinitely.

In many states, these laws were the product of explicit efforts to disenfranchise black voters after the Civil War. And even today, states with higher proportions of African Americans in their prison systems are far more likely to have strict laws disenfranchising felons.

The net effect — intentional or unintentional — is to dilute African American voting strength. And because African Americans vote disproportionately for Democrats, an issue that affects African Americans is an issue that affects the Democratic Party.