boutons_deux
01-26-2016, 03:54 PM
GOP’s Cotton leads effort to derail criminal justice reform
Real, meaningful progress on criminal justice reform offers promise – it’s one of the few issues supported by the president, GOP leaders, and even the Koch brothers – and in October, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a compromise package (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/criminal-justice-reform-bill-receives-polite-applause-left-and-right). As of this morning, the “Criminal Justice Reform and Corrections Act,” has already picked up 28 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2123/cosponsors?q={%22search%22%3A[%22Criminal+Justice+Reform+and+Corrections+Act%22]}&resultIndex=3) co-sponsors, 15 Democrats and 13 Republicans.
That kind of balance is uncommon on major issues – it helped the agreement clear the Senate Judiciary Committee easily – which is why it’s all the more important that some far-right senators are positioned to kill the legislation. Politico reported (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/criminal-justice-tom-cotton-218121) yesterday:
Sen. Tom Cotton, the hawkish upstart who’s already made waves on the Iran nuclear deal and government surveillance programs, is now leading a new rebellion against a bipartisan effort to overhaul the criminal justice system – hoping to torpedo one of the few pieces of major legislation that could pass Congress in President Barack Obama’s final year. […]
“It would be very dangerous and unwise to proceed with the Senate Judiciary bill, which would lead to the release of thousands of violent felons,” Cotton said later in an interview with POLITICO. “I think it’s no surprise that Republicans are divided on this question … [but] I don’t think any Republicans want legislation that is going to let out violent felons, which this bill would do.”
Cotton is joined in this campaign by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). Politico’s piece added that there are “pockets” of opposition within the GOP that will resist “anything that might erode its tough-on-crime reputation.”
In other words, a worthwhile, bipartisan agreement, backed by the Koch brothers, may be scrapped because some far-right senators are worried about the Republican Party’s branding.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is hardly a moderate, insists Cotton’s talking points are “not true,” and points to support for the bill from prominent GOP law-enforcement figures from the Bush/Cheney era, including former Attorney General] Michael Mukasey and former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who have thrown their support behind the bill.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-cotton-leads-effort-derail-criminal-justice-reform?cid=sm_fb_maddow
Real, meaningful progress on criminal justice reform offers promise – it’s one of the few issues supported by the president, GOP leaders, and even the Koch brothers – and in October, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a compromise package (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/criminal-justice-reform-bill-receives-polite-applause-left-and-right). As of this morning, the “Criminal Justice Reform and Corrections Act,” has already picked up 28 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2123/cosponsors?q={%22search%22%3A[%22Criminal+Justice+Reform+and+Corrections+Act%22]}&resultIndex=3) co-sponsors, 15 Democrats and 13 Republicans.
That kind of balance is uncommon on major issues – it helped the agreement clear the Senate Judiciary Committee easily – which is why it’s all the more important that some far-right senators are positioned to kill the legislation. Politico reported (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/criminal-justice-tom-cotton-218121) yesterday:
Sen. Tom Cotton, the hawkish upstart who’s already made waves on the Iran nuclear deal and government surveillance programs, is now leading a new rebellion against a bipartisan effort to overhaul the criminal justice system – hoping to torpedo one of the few pieces of major legislation that could pass Congress in President Barack Obama’s final year. […]
“It would be very dangerous and unwise to proceed with the Senate Judiciary bill, which would lead to the release of thousands of violent felons,” Cotton said later in an interview with POLITICO. “I think it’s no surprise that Republicans are divided on this question … [but] I don’t think any Republicans want legislation that is going to let out violent felons, which this bill would do.”
Cotton is joined in this campaign by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). Politico’s piece added that there are “pockets” of opposition within the GOP that will resist “anything that might erode its tough-on-crime reputation.”
In other words, a worthwhile, bipartisan agreement, backed by the Koch brothers, may be scrapped because some far-right senators are worried about the Republican Party’s branding.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is hardly a moderate, insists Cotton’s talking points are “not true,” and points to support for the bill from prominent GOP law-enforcement figures from the Bush/Cheney era, including former Attorney General] Michael Mukasey and former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who have thrown their support behind the bill.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-cotton-leads-effort-derail-criminal-justice-reform?cid=sm_fb_maddow