Saturday, March 16, 2013

In Which I Agree with Ken Cuccinelli

Virginia Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, last seen on this blog leading an inquisition against climate scientists, said something in his CPAC speech that I want to wholeheartedly endorse:
How many times have I seen my fellow tough-on-crime conservatives be not merely willing, but excited to lock up every convict and throw away the key? . . . The governor of Virginia must be willing to speak for those citizens who do not have a voice. If we really believe no one is beyond redemption we need to stop throwing away that key. Conservatives should lead the campaign to changing the culture of corrections in America.
Just reading this warmed my heart, and knowing that this is happening across America makes me feel optimistic about the future of our country. Our prison policies have been dictated by fear and a lust for revenge, and we need to move instead toward policies inspired by a desire to maintain an orderly society and help those offenders who can be helped. I even agree with Cuccinelli that conservatives need to take the lead here -- Democrats are still too traumatized by the crime debates of the 80s, and impressed by Clinton's success as a leader of the throw-away-the-key crowd, to move decisively on sentencing and prison issues. But I hope that when Christian conservatives like Cuccinelli bring their bills forward, liberals will join in supporting them.

1 comment:

pootrsox said...

Hard as I find it to believe, I agree w/ Cucinelli on this point.

And you're probably right about the Dems' avoidance of the subject b/c of the "soft on crime" attacks over the decades (Willie Horton, anyone?).

But I would hope that people of all political persuasions could unite around this humanitarian perspective... yet not see this solitary humanitarian position as in any way indicative of Cucinelli's mostly hateful positions on issues such as women's reproductive rights, voters' access to the ballot, the reality of global warming, etc.