It is widely believed, and I think established by White House recordings, that Nixon established the War on Drugs to attack people he didn't like: Hippies and blacks.
I believe that in public affairs and politics, the way to evaluate and act is to look at the (expected) outcomes and to ignore all the rhetoric. First, the outcomes are what matters and there's not a high correlation with the claims made ahead of time. Second, politicians are sophisticated enough to know what the outcomes will be; I think it's reasonable to assume that they know what is going to happen.
It may be true, but it’s worth considering who the source is, their motivations, and why it took so long for the quote to come out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#In_t...
A lot of states do restrict the vote for those on parole or probation, but once the supervision ends the vote is restored.
There have been plenty of studies showing poor and minorities get treated much harsher by the "justice" system.