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thesquanderer

(11,986 posts)
63. Yes, that Clinton bill was a mess.
Mon Feb 8, 2016, 01:58 PM
Feb 2016

But does anyone seriously doubt Sanders' positions on criminal justice?

Here is what he actually said in 1994 when debating the bill in question, from
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/8/8/1410122/-Senator-Sanders-remarks-on-1994-Crime-Bill

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.


And in terms of the current campaign, the following is from https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/

It is morally repugnant that we have privatized prisons all over America. Corporations should not be allowed to make a profit by building more jails and keeping more Americans behind bars. We have got to end the private for-profit prison racket in America. Earlier this year, Sen. Sanders introduced legislation that will end the private prison industry.

The measure of success for law enforcement should not be how many people get locked up. We need to invest in drug courts as well as medical and mental health interventions for people with substance abuse problems, so that people struggling with addiction do not end up in prison, they end up in treatment.

For people who have committed crimes that have landed them in jail, there needs to be a path back from prison. The federal system of parole needs to be reinstated. We need real education and real skills training for the incarcerated.

We must end the over-incarceration of nonviolent young Americans who do not pose a serious threat to our society. It is an international embarrassment that we have more people locked up in jail than any other country on earth – more than even the Communist totalitarian state of China. That has got to end.

We must address the lingering unjust stereotypes that lead to the labeling of black youths as “thugs” and “super predators.” We know the truth that, like every community in this country, the vast majority of people of color are trying to work hard, play by the rules and raise their children. It’s time to stop demonizing minority communities.


Really, unlike Hillary, he was saying the same thing then as he is now. The problem again is that, at a certain point, a congressman can't just pick and choose the pieces of legislation he likes, it's all or none.

Oh please! bravenak Feb 2016 #1
Like you read that long piece. cali Feb 2016 #2
Yeah, she did it in the minute you had it up before she commented Arazi Feb 2016 #5
No need. bravenak Feb 2016 #6
Sorry to have waste your time.... daleanime Feb 2016 #27
You too. bravenak Feb 2016 #28
That Clinton crime bill also included an assault weapons ban and the Violence Against Women act. thesquanderer Feb 2016 #55
It also enshrined mass incarceration into law bravenak Feb 2016 #58
Yes, that Clinton bill was a mess. thesquanderer Feb 2016 #63
I doubt his interest in my issues. bravenak Feb 2016 #64
How hootinholler Feb 2016 #44
Like that post? bravenak Feb 2016 #50
Calling someone cogent is disgusting? hootinholler Feb 2016 #51
Lol! "You confuse me. I applaud you" JudyM Feb 2016 #85
True. The end product does matter. Baitball Blogger Feb 2016 #3
BTW? Bernie was a YES vote on that omnibus crime bill. bravenak Feb 2016 #4
HRC was a yes for cluster bombs Arazi Feb 2016 #7
Cluster bombs suck. So does mass incarceration. bravenak Feb 2016 #10
Hillary's top bundlers include mass incarceration/private prison corps Arazi Feb 2016 #13
Bernie had a vote. It was YES. bravenak Feb 2016 #14
Cluster bombs shredding the kiddies - YES! Arazi Feb 2016 #15
Has nothing to do with his Yes Vote. bravenak Feb 2016 #17
Your selective outrage of which brown and black people matter Arazi Feb 2016 #19
I like to stay on my topics. bravenak Feb 2016 #21
Multi tasking is hard Arazi Feb 2016 #23
Addressing your candidates vote seems harder. bravenak Feb 2016 #24
Oh you already know that story Arazi Feb 2016 #25
I know that a certain Senator votes YES on funding those millitary supplies every time. bravenak Feb 2016 #26
Lame and weak. Once the war is on nobody will de-fund them Arazi Feb 2016 #29
Pacifists do not exist in our govt legis bodies. bravenak Feb 2016 #32
Hillary will use drones and more Arazi Feb 2016 #37
Ok. bravenak Feb 2016 #38
"Every bomb is a school we didn't build" Jesse Jackson Omaha Steve Feb 2016 #31
The congress. bravenak Feb 2016 #33
The wouldn't fund a war that didn't exist Omaha Steve Feb 2016 #36
Indeed. GWB was terrible. bravenak Feb 2016 #40
Hillary Clinton is not entitled to black votes Omaha Steve Feb 2016 #42
Neither is Bernie. bravenak Feb 2016 #52
So true. (eom) oasis Feb 2016 #77
She's wasting your time. sammythecat Feb 2016 #72
Interesting that you know my mind. I have no clue who you are. bravenak Feb 2016 #78
Should their AA victims matter? Akicita Feb 2016 #57
What does that mean? bravenak Feb 2016 #59
It means I want poor and POC neighborhoods to be safe. Akicita Feb 2016 #60
Ok. bravenak Feb 2016 #61
And you know why. It is duplicitous to pretend you don't cali Feb 2016 #8
He voted yes. On that bill. Clean hands and all. bravenak Feb 2016 #9
Waas a "Yes" vote on the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, too ... 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #11
I seem to remember that. bravenak Feb 2016 #12
One would think, given his present position. eom 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #18
Indeed. bravenak Feb 2016 #22
Please see post #48 (n/t) thesquanderer Feb 2016 #49
That was lumped into an omnibus spending bill at the last minute after last minute modifications. JonLeibowitz Feb 2016 #39
I guess it depends on whether he was more for the the spending bill than he was 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #43
Well, that would hold if hootinholler Feb 2016 #47
What are you responding to? eom. 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #67
I was referring to the CfMA. I don't know enough about the crime bill to comment. JonLeibowitz Feb 2016 #65
Really ... Not since 1998 ... 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #68
Ah, you're right! My mistake. JonLeibowitz Feb 2016 #73
I do not hold Bill Clinton blameless for, either, the CFMA nor the Crime Bill ... 1StrongBlackMan Feb 2016 #74
Understood. That's a fine position. I am unsure of how to approach the issue. JonLeibowitz Feb 2016 #76
vid at link Go Vols Feb 2016 #79
Thank you. JonLeibowitz Feb 2016 #89
It was not the crime bill that was rolled into the omnibus spending bill, it was the CFMA. thesquanderer Feb 2016 #66
How Sanders came to support Bill Clinton's Commodity Futures Modernization Act thesquanderer Feb 2016 #48
Why should Sanders have voted against the Violence Against Women Act? jeff47 Feb 2016 #82
Good. Then if he gets a pass, so do they, yay! bravenak Feb 2016 #83
The difference is Sanders opposed the tougher sentences. jeff47 Feb 2016 #84
So? bravenak Feb 2016 #86
So now you're back to advocating Sanders vote against the Violence Against Women Act. jeff47 Feb 2016 #88
EXACTLY! No one wants a candidate "who gets THINGS done." W and Cheney got THINGS done. Reagan got Vote2016 Feb 2016 #16
Excellent post. Cassiopeia Feb 2016 #81
The uglier the Clintons get, the prouder I am to be a Bernie supporter. senz Feb 2016 #20
Hillary is all about Hillary. jalan48 Feb 2016 #30
Absurd. NurseJackie Feb 2016 #34
how do you know? Fast Walker 52 Feb 2016 #41
Really? Got those coins ready? TBF Feb 2016 #53
You have inside information? Bohemianwriter Feb 2016 #54
+1000. nt. polly7 Feb 2016 #75
K&R jwirr Feb 2016 #35
This quote is one of the defining problems in America: Moostache Feb 2016 #45
WHile Hillary was on the board of Directors of Walmart Geronimoe Feb 2016 #46
As seen on DU. eom Betty Karlson Feb 2016 #56
Whoops! Don't forget all those black kids mikehiggins Feb 2016 #62
K & R! SoapBox Feb 2016 #69
A WOMAN DOESN’T GET THE FUCKING OPTION *NOT* TO PLAY THE GAME MisterP Feb 2016 #70
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Feb 2016 #71
The decision is very simple. Utopian Leftist Feb 2016 #80
Between the Middle East and peoples views of Wall Street, ... Babel_17 Feb 2016 #87
Thanks for the delusional nonsense. RBInMaine Feb 2016 #90
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