You need to read about the widespread concern about street violence and gang warfare that gripped the 1980s and 1990s, when many people – including many blacks and minorities – were calling for more police presence. And didn’t Sanders also vote for that bill?
You need to hear her entire speech before the vote on the AUMF, when she argued for diplomacy and forcing Saddam Hussein to let in UN inspectors.
Love when the sexist sneering veneer falls off the face of emo-progs like Darcy.
It was a good thing in 2008, when we were bogged down in two unnecessary unwinnable wars, when deregulation led to an economic collapse, and when the Justice Department was perverted and obsessed with pushing the phantom of voting fraud.
It’s not a good thing when, under the current administration, we prevented a second Depression, led an economic recovery, ended combat operations in Iraq, spearheaded healthcare reform, regulated the finance sector, and prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
I see seedeeveee is trying to attack Clinton for the crime bill Sanders voted for which Clinton didn’t.
Weird.
I’ve heard these arguments of course. I’m glad you came out and said it!
Randy, I lived through the 1980’s and 1990’s. My eyes were open. This was just an extension of Nixon politics. When it came time for a leader to stand up to the advocates of Nixonian Politics and a new Prison State we got the Clintons, the Gores, Feinstein and the other assorted people we still are stuck with.
I have too. And I find your arguments laughable.
Mitchell, your mental state is not my concern.
You mean via that 1994 Omnibus crime bill Sanders voted for?
ROFLMAO
Bill Clinton did something called Community Policing which was actually a good thing, putting hundreds of thousands of cops onto the streets into the communities most affected by crime, which are the communities of urban poor, disproportionately PoC. The idea of Community Policing was to have cops actually walk the beat in the communities, get to know the residents and work with them to reduce crime, which was a cancer on their communities and something most people living there desperately wanted. It also meant de-antagonizing the relationship between cops and ordinary citizens and where possible, having the police force look more like the community it served. And it was effective because crime went down, and this dog-whistle issue was removed from the GOP political arsenal going forward.
Clinton Speech or Sanders speech?
“Mr. Speaker, let me begin with a profound remark: Two plus two equals
four. In other words, there is a logical and rational process called
cause and effect. In terms of Newtonian physics, that means that every
action causes an equal and opposite reaction.
In other words, Mr. Speaker, there are reasons why things happen, as
controversial as that statement may be.
A farmer neglects to tend and care for his fields–it is likely that
the crop will fail.
A company neglects to invest in research and development–it is
likely that the company will not be profitable.
In a similar way, Mr. Speaker, a society which neglects, which
oppresses and which disdains a very significant part of its
population–which leaves them hungry, impoverished, unemployed,
uneducated, and utterly without hope, will, through cause and effect,
create a population which is bitter, which is angry, which is violent,
and a society which is crime-ridden. This is the case in America, and
it is the case in countries throughout the world.
Mr. Speaker, how do we talk about the very serious crime problem in
America without mentioning that we have the highest rate of childhood
poverty in the industrialized world, by far, with 22 percent of our
children in poverty and 5 million who are hungry today? Do the Members
think maybe that might have some relationship to crime? How do we talk
about crime when this Congress is prepared, this year, to spend 11
times more for the military than for education; when 21 percent of our
kids drop out of high school; when a recent study told us that twice as
many young workers now earn poverty wages as 10 years ago; when the gap
between the rich and the poor is wider, and when the rate of poverty
continues to grow? Do the members think that might have some
relationship to crime?
Mr. Speaker, it is my firm belief that clearly, there are some people
in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and
sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order
to protect society from them. But it is also my view that through the
neglect of our Government and through a grossly irrational set of
priorities, we are dooming tens of millions of young people to a future
of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence.
And Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world, and we already imprison
more people per capita than any other country, and all of the
executions in the world, will not make that situation right. We can
either educate or electrocute. We can create meaningful jobs,
rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails.
Mr. Speaker, let us create a society of hope and compassion, not one
of hate and vengeance.”
The idea of Community Policing was to get as many minorities into prison as quickly and for as long as possible. And to win elections by looking to be “Tough on Crime”.
And isn’t this something? LBJ used some political savvy to work with Everett Dirksen to give us the Civil Rights Acts.
But back then things were not binary, the way they are now. They are now Win-Lose. This is a sports way of thinking. It also applies to the idea of war which annihilates a country and it is vanquished.
The “game” of politics, as it is now floated by the GOP, FOX and the MSM is that of Win-Lose. It sounds like sports–and, in fact, uses a lot of the lingo–but, structurally, POLITICS is not some sort of sports activity in a “league” tallying up “records” so as to see who is eligible to get or compete a “championship”.
And yet, fostered by the MSM, there is an entire culture which seeks to make this Dem/Reb perpetual “war” looked at in binary terms.
Without anything which makes the sports metaphor functional for operating a government (not a league).
The only things that are “functional” in our politics are
(a) the spread sheets of various MSM and FOX entities describing the profits gained in their various endeavors for their bosses and shareholders.
(b) maintenance of hegemony for the 0.001%
Love it when douchebros use phrases like “emo-progs”.
Nothing is going to move forward in the current political climate. The republicans are so emboldened they are now openly mocking the president and refusing to do the most basic parts of their job such as passing a budget or appointing nominees. Keeping the status quo means that we’re stuck, because Hillary will not get people motivated enough to vote in the midterms and actually change the balance of power. Sanders believes that he can motivate people to be more politically active and do it. Now you could say that’s idealistic, misguided, etc. But it’s also the only way forward. With Hillary you are pretty much guaranteed low turnout, apathy and continued belief that politics is a waste of time.
At this point in the campaign Obama had 120 Delegate points, as was gaining new ones on a daily basis, while Hillary had plateaued.
Sanders, again, has 3…
If this is true, then why aren’t minority communities associating Hillary with this atrocity and going for Bernie instead?
The exaggerated high sentences for nonviolent crimes, privatization of prisons, racial profiling and other factors that also made up our 1990s experience are indeed an abomination, and Hillary has been just as outspoken as Bernie about the need to reverse this.
But Community Policing, as such, is a commonsense and effective idea that as far as I know (I can’t speak from firsthand experience here!) was embraced by the majority of urban PoC and their elected representatives, because it saved lives and freed their neighborhoods from the scourge of crime.
But we’ll see who those communities choose to support in the upcoming primaries!
Trump may well be the GOP Nominee
Trump has mentioned shooting someone and still retaining his support
Trump has savaged Latinos, Muslims, African Americans, women
Trump is supported by White Nationalist groups
The Supreme Court hangs in the Balance–a GOP win sends the Court back for generations
The GOP is anti Climate Change policy
This is just scratching the surface of the menace the Republican Party represents
Given this reality, if Hillary were the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz she would still be an exceptional motivator, if only by virtue of the fact that she is not a member of the most racist, Reactionary political organization in 85 years.
This business about “motivating” people to come out to vote suggests that Democratic voters are totally unaware of the dangers facing us, do not hold responsible the Republican Party for its policies and would just as soon stand by as their country goes down the drain.
If that IS the case, if people are that unaware and if the numbers of such people could swing the election, we are much more clueless as a nation than I ever could have imagined.
I agree that community policing was seen as a viable alternative, where police officers were assigned to walk a beat, get to know residents, and become a part of the community. It was embraced by many minority communities.
I disagree. A Hillary-Trump showdown will get people motivated on both sides. The result, if Democrats’ natural constituencies show up to vote this November (as they should and undoubtedly will, considering the crazy coming at them from the other side) could result in a moderate landslide for Hillary (54% range) and will almost certainly mean recapturing the Senate. So, wind at her back to establish the terms of the debate going forward. Winning the midterms in 2018 is trickier, but this means rebuilding the party from the ground up and again, Hillary is the person (not Bernie) whose campaign is giving back to candidates at the local level. What investment has Bernie made institutionally in the Democratic party? But winning these “boring” county- and state-level elections is how we build a bench of strong national candidates.