Clinton: Obama Not Barbaric Enough
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Alex Knapp | Tuesday, January 8, 2008 |
In the heated campaigning between Iowa and New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign has started to up the attacks on Barack Obama’s record. One of the more recent is the Clinton campaign’s complaint that Obama favors defendant’s rights and opposes mandatory minimums.
Hillary’s aides point to Obama’s extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his alliances with “left-wing” intellectuals in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, and his liberal voting record on criminal defendants’ rights as subjects for examination.Along the same lines, ABC reported that Clinton aides gave the network various examples, of Obama’s controversial stands. The aides cited Obama’s past assertion that he would support ending mandatory minimum sentences for federal crimes, pointing to a 2004 statement at an NAACP-sponsored debate: “Mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from judges.”
As Radley Balko rightly points out in response to the Clinton campaign:
To me, those both sound like pretty good reasons to support Obama. Is there a single issue where Hillary Clinton doesn’t support giving more power to the government? Abortion, I guess. But any others?
Indeed. One thing that has impressed me as I’ve read more about Obama’s record is that he’s been fairly consistent in working to reform the Justice system in favor of common citizens over the demands of prosecutors and politicians who want to sound “tough.” As Charles Peters points out, this was consistent even in Obama’s days as a state legislator:
Consider a bill into which Obama clearly put his heart and soul. The problem he wanted to address was that too many confessions, rather than being voluntary, were coerced — by beating the daylights out of the accused.Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped.
This seemed likely to stop the beatings, but the bill itself aroused immediate opposition. There were Republicans who were automatically tough on crime and Democrats who feared being thought soft on crime. There were death penalty abolitionists, some of whom worried that Obama’s bill, by preventing the execution of innocents, would deprive them of their best argument. Vigorous opposition came from the police, too many of whom had become accustomed to using muscle to “solve” crimes. And the incoming governor, Rod Blagojevich, announced that he was against it.
[...]
The police proved to be Obama’s toughest opponent. Legislators tend to quail when cops say things like, “This means we won’t be able to protect your children.” The police tried to limit the videotaping to confessions, but Obama, knowing that the beatings were most likely to occur during questioning, fought — successfully — to keep interrogations included in the required videotaping.
By showing officers that he shared many of their concerns, even going so far as to help pass other legislation they wanted, he was able to quiet the fears of many.
Obama proved persuasive enough that the bill passed both houses of the legislature, the Senate by an incredible 35 to 0. Then he talked Blagojevich into signing the bill, making Illinois the first state to require such videotaping.
I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a lot about Obama’s policy stances that I don’t agree with. However, it is rare to find a politician with the courage to stand up for the rights of the accused against the “tough on crime” rhetoric that pervades the political landscape. Frankly, I admire it a great deal and wish that there were more politicians out there with his guts. It’s easy to pander to the lowest common denominator of fear (I’m looking at you, Rudy Giuliani). It’s a lot harder to point out that the punitive, “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” attitude that dominates American policy is, in fact, ineffective and immoral.
About the Author: Alex has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law. He has been published in the Kansas City Star, TCS Daily, and Comic Book Resources. He joined the staff of OTB in June 2006. Additionally, he’s been writing at Heretical Ideas since October, 2001, and also reviews cigars at Cigar Jack's Cigar News and Reviews.
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Impressed you about Obama? Huh?!?
He's a liberal! He's as liberal as they come, and as much of one as Hillary! Heck, there is good evidence he is a muslim too, but leaving that aside, why would we want such a liberal to run the country? Why why why? To destroy our great capitalistic economy? To give victory to the terrorists? To grow government even faster and larger than it is growing now? At least Bill Clinton was a moderate. But you want a liberal now?!? Who was the last liberal you got? Yea, that's right. Jimmy peanut farmer. Great job, Dems!
"But you want a liberal now?!? Who was the last liberal you got? Yea, that's right. Jimmy peanut farmer. Great job, Dems!"
It was Bill Clinton, before the Republicans won the Congress.
At least Bill Clinton was a moderate.
Bill Clinton was a forced moderate due to a Republican congress. He did make the best of it and still takes a lot of credit for the resultant moderate successes. Given the univeral health care plan that was worked on under his administration its easy to see how liberal he might have gone.
Christopher: Please do not procreate.
Yeah, Obama's liberal policies are off on the other side of my political beliefs, but I have to give him respect for fully thinking out his ideas and trying to come up with solutions that benefit all interested parties in a balanced way. The other Democrats are soooo far left and the Republicans are even a bit pro-government this election, so he really comes out looking like a moderate.
You've obviously never been a victim of crime.
Plus our justice system isn't riddled through with holes, doesn't let's out violent criminals early for over crowding, let's of child rapists on technicalities, or anything like that. We should make it even EASIER for them.
You've obviously never been a victim of crime.
Being beated during a police interrogation would make them victims of crime as well. Or do they not count?
Plus our justice system isn't riddled through with holes, doesn't let's out violent criminals early for over crowding, let's of child rapists on technicalities, or anything like that. We should make it even EASIER for them.
If you can't lock up violent criminals and rapists without beating a confession out of them, then maybe, just maybe, they aren't as guilty as you think they are. If you can't prove their guilt, then you must allow for the possibility that they are innocent.
As usual in American politics, negative ads actually make me like the target of the ads more.
Romney's attack ads in NH calling McCain 'soft on terrorism and illegal immigration' made me more sympathetic to McCain.
independent,
You should really study Obama. He hasn't thought anything out! You know what his big plan is? Win the presidency along with greater majorities of liberal democrats in congress. Thats it! LOL!
"I have to give him respect for fully thinking out his ideas and trying to come up with solutions that benefit all interested parties in a balanced"
I have only seen a lot of rhetoric and pandering no solutions.
This tells me he is a situation normal politician.
