They say the definition of a gaffe is when a politician accidentally tells the truth. That sounds like an apt description of what Kurt Zellers did yesterday, saying that he believes voting is a privilege, not a right:

“When you go to even a Burger King or a McDonalds and use your debit card, they’ll ask you to see your ID [to be] sure its you,” Zellers said. “Should we have to do that when we vote, something that is one of the most sacred — I think it’s a privilege, it’s not a right. Everybody doesn’t get it because if you go to jail or if you commit some heinous crime your rights are taken away. This is a privilege.”

Voting isn’t just a right. It’s THE right. It’s the right with which we defend all of our other rights. If policymakers infringe on any of our other rights, we will throw them out of office. Without that ability, we are powerless.

Zellers later took back his comments, saying that he “misspoke.” But his actions speak louder than his words. The work Zeller and his caucus have been doing to take away Minnesotans’ voting rights makes me think Zeller “misspoke” by accidentally stating his true beliefs.