5 ms·

Far too little and probably too late. Come on Mr. President - you had the past 8 years to visit jails and prisons, to make sweeping changes to the Federal Pris

by jMyles 11y ago

Far too little and probably too late. Come on Mr. President - you had the past 8 years to visit jails and prisons, to make sweeping changes to the Federal Prison System, and to push for legislation to seriously curtail solitary confinement, for children and adults alike, throughout the state systems. This may serve as a bit of notoriety on your legacy, for the position you take here will surely only gain traction and be looked upon as utterly obvious, but it does little to help those poor souls suffering needlessly and alone tonight.

pstuart 11y ago
True, but bear in mind that being "soft on crime" is something no politician wants to be accused of.
- wanderingstan 11y ago
  Bush Sr. used this to defeat Michael Dukakis in 1988, after an inmate committed a crime while on a furlough program Dukakis said could help rehabilitation. Republicans eagerly picked up the Horton issue after Dukakis clinched the nomination. In June 1988, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush seized on the Horton case, bringing it up repeatedly in campaign speeches. Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, said "By the time we're finished, they're going to wonder whether Willie Horton is Dukakis' running mate." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton#Horton_in_the_1988_presidential_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton#Horton_in_the_19...
  - LordKano 11y ago
    Dukakis pretty much did everything wrong. He was opposed to the death penalty when the country was overwhelmingly for it. He talked about how civilians shouldn't be permitted to own guns. He was arguably soft on crime.
  - hellofunk 11y ago
    Dukakis also suffered a major character blow in the eyes of the public during one of the televised debates when he said he would not support death penality even if his wife had been murdered (or something along those lines). It was an awful question to ask, but his reply was seen as unemotional to the audience when he reiterated that he still would not support the death penalty. I often wonder what the U.S. would have been like had he been elected. In any case, the American public apparently had a similar notion, since they kicked out Bush Sr to elect a Democrat anyway, just 4 years later. But that moment in the debate is often held as the defining moment that crashed his chances to win. A little silly, I think, but that's politics.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
CaptSpify 11y ago
Honestly, this read more like a PR piece. "Look at how much I care about these people!" "Man, I'd love to fix this broken system if only they would let me!" It's just a puff-piece, nothing more.
- refurb 11y ago
  It's all about legacy. Obama is coming to the end of his 2nd term and he wants to go out on a good note.
  - nothrabannosir 11y ago
    As all presidents do. As would you or I. Does it then not count? If you believe a man should be judged by his actions, not his words, that pendulum swings both ways. Dismiss this piece for being only talk, no walk: sure. But don't dismiss it because "it's for the wrong reasons." Who cares? If he does it, he does it! Win for society. And if he comes out looking better in the process? Win for everyone. I'm not saying you're wrong; I just don't think it's a bad thing. (Maybe I read too much into your comment and neither did you… That joke would be entirely on me, then :) )
- CaptSpify 11y ago
  Disregard me. I didn't realize that he actually put it in place. I take back everything I said. Obama actually comes out looking good, and I'm an asshat
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Publicly correcting yourself goes a long way to mitigating that last part, so bravo on that.
martythemaniak 11y ago
What does "too late" mean? He should not have done it because it did not come sooner? It's past some deadline and it can't/shouldn't happen?
- afarrell 11y ago
  Also, what does "pushing for legislation" mean if it doesn't include advocating for it in widely-read media?
  - jMyles 11y ago
    You only read half the statement. I said "push for legislation to seriously curtail solitary confinement, for children and adults alike, throughout the state systems."
    - afarrell 11y ago
      No I did see that. My response is 1) As my parent notes, He's still president. Time has not yet run out. 2) Publishing his opinion in the Washington Post is part of pushing for legislation, especially when we are talking about state systems over which he has no authority.
      - jMyles 11y ago
        Including this piece, he has not yet pushed for for legislation 1) regarding adults or 2) regarding state systems.
- givehimagun 11y ago
  'Too late' is only the first question. Arguments like too little and 8 years to make sweeping changes - those arguments are far too myopic and cynical to be considered sound arguments. Instead of isolated criticism, jMyles, tell me your ideas...how would you have done better. Issue identification is worthless to me.
  - deleted 11y ago
hellofunk 11y ago
Just as every person has a finite amount of money in the bank, there is also such a thing as "political capital" and a politician must choose carefully how it is spent, because you cannot spend it well on many things. Obama used most of his political capital to overhaul healthcare, that was his top issue and it took years and years to do it. Now that it is more or less set in stone, he's finally had the opportunity in the last couple years to look at other important items to him, namely climate change (for which he also did some important policy-making work), guns, immigration, and the prison system. It is not easy to make sweeping changes to any major policy, and even getting one big thing done in 8 years is hard to do in the current political climate.
- tempodox 11y ago
  Getting _anything_ done in this administration is nothing short of a miracle.
  - enraged_camel 11y ago
    Exactly right. No single administration in recent history has seen so much vitriol and tooth-and-nail resistance from the opposing party in Congress as Obama. The GOP went so far as to shut down the government to try to make sure Obama didn't get his way. Don't get me wrong: Obama is definitely not without flaws. But I think history will remember him very kindly. The man has extraordinary patience and has proven time and again that he can remain mature and civil in the face of untold amounts of immature tantrums from the opposition.
    - hellofunk 11y ago
      I have read that the political tension in Washington is at its highest level since the U.S. civil war.
  - pdeuchler 11y ago
    Funny how the administration got the drone program through and sheltered the NSA without any problems though. At least you have the ACA, where the administration had to fight tooth and nail against a hostile right to get what they wanted. Oh wait, no, they compromised on almost everything and still passed it without a single Republican vote. Weird how that narrative doesn't actually hold up when you examine the issues.

by jMyles 11y ago

pstuart 11y ago

True, but bear in mind that being "soft on crime" is something no politician wants to be accused of.

wanderingstan 11y ago
Bush Sr. used this to defeat Michael Dukakis in 1988, after an inmate committed a crime while on a furlough program Dukakis said could help rehabilitation. Republicans eagerly picked up the Horton issue after Dukakis clinched the nomination. In June 1988, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush seized on the Horton case, bringing it up repeatedly in campaign speeches. Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, said "By the time we're finished, they're going to wonder whether Willie Horton is Dukakis' running mate." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton#Horton_in_the_1988_presidential_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton#Horton_in_the_19...
- LordKano 11y ago
  Dukakis pretty much did everything wrong. He was opposed to the death penalty when the country was overwhelmingly for it. He talked about how civilians shouldn't be permitted to own guns. He was arguably soft on crime.
- hellofunk 11y ago
  Dukakis also suffered a major character blow in the eyes of the public during one of the televised debates when he said he would not support death penality even if his wife had been murdered (or something along those lines). It was an awful question to ask, but his reply was seen as unemotional to the audience when he reiterated that he still would not support the death penalty. I often wonder what the U.S. would have been like had he been elected. In any case, the American public apparently had a similar notion, since they kicked out Bush Sr to elect a Democrat anyway, just 4 years later. But that moment in the debate is often held as the defining moment that crashed his chances to win. A little silly, I think, but that's politics.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

CaptSpify 11y ago

Honestly, this read more like a PR piece. "Look at how much I care about these people!" "Man, I'd love to fix this broken system if only they would let me!" It's just a puff-piece, nothing more.

refurb 11y ago
It's all about legacy. Obama is coming to the end of his 2nd term and he wants to go out on a good note.
- nothrabannosir 11y ago
  As all presidents do. As would you or I. Does it then not count? If you believe a man should be judged by his actions, not his words, that pendulum swings both ways. Dismiss this piece for being only talk, no walk: sure. But don't dismiss it because "it's for the wrong reasons." Who cares? If he does it, he does it! Win for society. And if he comes out looking better in the process? Win for everyone. I'm not saying you're wrong; I just don't think it's a bad thing. (Maybe I read too much into your comment and neither did you… That joke would be entirely on me, then :) )
CaptSpify 11y ago
Disregard me. I didn't realize that he actually put it in place. I take back everything I said. Obama actually comes out looking good, and I'm an asshat
- mikeash 11y ago
  Publicly correcting yourself goes a long way to mitigating that last part, so bravo on that.

martythemaniak 11y ago

What does "too late" mean? He should not have done it because it did not come sooner? It's past some deadline and it can't/shouldn't happen?

afarrell 11y ago
Also, what does "pushing for legislation" mean if it doesn't include advocating for it in widely-read media?
- jMyles 11y ago
  You only read half the statement. I said "push for legislation to seriously curtail solitary confinement, for children and adults alike, throughout the state systems."
  - afarrell 11y ago
    No I did see that. My response is 1) As my parent notes, He's still president. Time has not yet run out. 2) Publishing his opinion in the Washington Post is part of pushing for legislation, especially when we are talking about state systems over which he has no authority.
    - jMyles 11y ago
      Including this piece, he has not yet pushed for for legislation 1) regarding adults or 2) regarding state systems.
givehimagun 11y ago
'Too late' is only the first question. Arguments like too little and 8 years to make sweeping changes - those arguments are far too myopic and cynical to be considered sound arguments. Instead of isolated criticism, jMyles, tell me your ideas...how would you have done better. Issue identification is worthless to me.
- deleted 11y ago

hellofunk 11y ago

Just as every person has a finite amount of money in the bank, there is also such a thing as "political capital" and a politician must choose carefully how it is spent, because you cannot spend it well on many things. Obama used most of his political capital to overhaul healthcare, that was his top issue and it took years and years to do it. Now that it is more or less set in stone, he's finally had the opportunity in the last couple years to look at other important items to him, namely climate change (for which he also did some important policy-making work), guns, immigration, and the prison system. It is not easy to make sweeping changes to any major policy, and even getting one big thing done in 8 years is hard to do in the current political climate.

tempodox 11y ago
Getting _anything_ done in this administration is nothing short of a miracle.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  Exactly right. No single administration in recent history has seen so much vitriol and tooth-and-nail resistance from the opposing party in Congress as Obama. The GOP went so far as to shut down the government to try to make sure Obama didn't get his way. Don't get me wrong: Obama is definitely not without flaws. But I think history will remember him very kindly. The man has extraordinary patience and has proven time and again that he can remain mature and civil in the face of untold amounts of immature tantrums from the opposition.
  - hellofunk 11y ago
    I have read that the political tension in Washington is at its highest level since the U.S. civil war.
- pdeuchler 11y ago
  Funny how the administration got the drone program through and sheltered the NSA without any problems though. At least you have the ACA, where the administration had to fight tooth and nail against a hostile right to get what they wanted. Oh wait, no, they compromised on almost everything and still passed it without a single Republican vote. Weird how that narrative doesn't actually hold up when you examine the issues.