Matthew R. Walter, a conservative writer from Michigan, contributes op-ed pieces to the New York time.
Walther, editor of the Catholic magazine The Lamp, urges his readers in today’s Times not to vote. In his piece called “Why I Don’t Vote,” Walther writes:
“Why does anyone vote?” I ask myself. The answer cannot be that we believe that by doing so, we will influence the outcome of an election. My vote, were it not withheld, would have no such effect. This is true even at the county or municipal level. The vote margins for the State of Florida in the presidential election of 2000 — the closest in modern American history — were in the hundreds, not the single digits. Voting is, strictly speaking, pointless.
But in fact, Walther — according to public records — has voted at least twice and recently. He voted in the 2020 and 2022 general elections from his home in Three Rivers, Michigan.
Another Matthew Walther, also from Michigan but 23 years his senior, also voted in those elections.
The fact that the Times would run such an essay is deeply troubling, especially in light of current events. “Why I Don’t Vote” is already being ridiculed. But the idea that they didn’t even vet Walther’s”s story and just believed him says a lot for this much compromised newspaper.
There’s even more information at the Twitter account @capitolhunters which identifies Walther as an extreme right winger with ties to the January 6th Capitol insurrection.
The Times either doesn’t care about what they’re publishing, or they’re doing it on purpose. Either way, we’re losing our “newspaper of record” at the time we need them most. It’s more than just a shame. It’s criminal.
