Looking at the presidential election of 2016, there seems to be three real choices for America's future. Each path is beautifully illustrated by three candidates: Hillary Clinton; the insider politician, Donald Trump; the racist, billionaire ID of the GOP, and Bernie Sanders, the people's candidate.
Each candidate is a reflection of who we choose to be and what kind of society we choose to live in. It has been said that the test of one's humanity is how you treat the least of its citizens. If that is true, one of the best ways to look at how a president might govern is their stance on the United States criminal justice system.
Business As Usual
Hillary Clinton is a typical politician in that she is very comfortable with the corporate elite and the Washington machine. Many see her as a symbol of insider politics where money greases the wheel of legislation. This is illustrated with her close ties with the Industrial Prison Complex. In Fact, many of her campaign bundlers are lobbyists for the
for-profit prison industry. As reported by
The Intercept:
Richard Sullivan, of the lobbying firm Capitol Counsel, is a bundler for the Clinton campaign, bringing in $44,859 in contributions in a few short months. Sullivan is also a registered lobbyist for the Geo Group, a company that operates a number of jails, including immigrant detention centers, for profit.
As we reported yesterday, fully five Clinton bundlers work for the lobbying and law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison company in America, paid Akin Gump $240,000 in lobbying fees last year. The firm also serves as a law firm for the prison giant, representing the company in court.
This should be held firmly in the mind when she speaks of ending mass incarceration:
"Of the more than two million Americans incarcerated today, a significant percentage are low-level offenders, people held for violating parole or minor drug crimes or who are simply awaiting trial in courts...Keeping them behind bars does little to reduce crime but it does a lot to tear apart families and communities."
Sure that sounds nice, but where is the actual policy measure? She may have a few ideas like equipping police with body cameras and seeking alternatives to low level offenders, but as recently as 2008, she blasted then candidate Obama for his weak positions on crime, pointing to his call for mandatory minimums sentences. Seeing as she is making a hefty profit from these prisons, it is not hard to understand why.
When Clinton talks about reforming immigration, it is important to understand that she reprimanded San Francisco for being a 'sanctuary city', and calls for more deportations. Ignoring the fact that most undocumented immigrants are non-violent. Sadly, cases such as the recent Francisco Sanchez murder case are used as an excuse to ratchet up deportations in the city.
"The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported.So I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on."
While she may be a caring politician who cares about immigration, the joined efforts of Law Enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fill up private prisons with broken immigrant families. Is it in her financial interests to find the best solution for these families, or is she beholden to greater forces?
Hillary Clinton sounds liberal, but comes across as an average, right-of-center, politician. With Clinton in the White House, nothing really changes all that much and our decline as a nation and a society continues. But, so the logic goes, at least she is better than...
The Totalitarian Regime of the GOP.
We've had fun with Donald Trump's farcical race so far, but now things have taken a turn for the worse. First, Trump called immigrants murderers and rapists and openly called for the mass deportation of 11 million immigrants. Then, two men in New York beat and urinated on a homeless Latino man in Trump's name and said this after their arrest:
"Donald Trump was right; all these illegals need to be deported."
And what was Trump's reply?
"It would be a shame. . . . I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate."
Yes, they're very passionate when it comes to beating and urinating on the homeless. This is the party with morals and good Christian family values?
To further illustrate Trumps ease with racism, during an Alabama rally, the chant "White Power!" was heard multiple times, and Trump allowed it without a word of condemnation. And still his poll numbers rise in the red states.
His most recent endorsements have come from Neo-Nazi groups and Klan Leaders. In fact, former Klansmen David Duke endorsed Trump by saying:
"Although we can't trust him to do what he says, the other Republican candidates won't even say what he says. So he's certainly the best of the lot. And he's certainly somebody that we should get behind in terms, ya know, raising the image of this thing."
The Donald said nothing of this for five straight days until asked about it in an interview. You would think he might come straight out and use his colorful discourse to at least call them losers like everyone else he disagrees with, but no. Five days he let go by with that ringing endorsement hanging in the air, but hey, he has a great relationship with 'the blacks'.
With that in mind, in here is an excerpt from his book about crime and punishment.
"We can have safe streets. But unless we stand up for tough anticrime policies, they will be replaced by policies that emphasize criminal's rights over those of ordinary citizens.The only victim of a violent crime is the person getting shot, stabbed, or raped. The perpetrator is never a victim. He's nothing more than a predator."
This quote is horrifying when framed by his comfort level with racist hate groups that view black men as inherently criminal. Combine that with his call to instantly round up immigrants, gestapo style, and dispose of them. Is he going to go door to door with SWAT teams and roust everybody out of bed, looking for 'illegals'?
This leads to the increased criminalization of minorities and when partnered with militant police squads feeding the private prisons, we are led down a very evil path indeed.
The New Benjamin Franklin
Bernie Sanders represents a return to the ideals of the Founding Fathers. Sanders has taken this vision and helped it evolve to address new issues that did not exist in 1776. For instance, we did not have a standing army, mega banks, mega churches, or industrial pollution. We did not even have industry back then but judging from their sabotage of the East India Company, we knew what our forefathers thought of corporate corruption.
Going back to the related issue of for-profit prisons, Bernie Sanders had this to say:
"When Congress reconvenes in September, I will be introducing legislation which takes corporations out of profiteering from running jails."
His bill would abolish private prisons. Beyond his politics, this is a direct action taken by senator Sanders that could improve the lives of the many people of color who face mass incarceration each day. Of course, it still takes an act of congress to pass it into law, but Sanders has done his part to make that a reality.
"From Ferguson to Baltimore and across this nation, too many African-Americans and other minorities find themselves subjected to a system that treats citizens who have not committed crimes as if they were criminals, and that is unacceptable."
He is right to be angry when todays corporations run our prisons like urban citizen storage units. His demeanor is a bit rough, but he speaks with truth. He knows that by regulating Wall Street, we return sovereignty to the people. It's not a radical idea. In fact, the majority of Americans agree with him.
The breaking of the prison industry would detach profit from prisoners, most of whom are young African Americans. This is indeed a bold move, and it would take a strong leader like Bernie Sanders with his grandfatherly anger to lead congress to the right decision.
His positions are tremndously popular among most Americans. A national poll conducted by the Progressive Change Institute indicated that 70% of the people surveyed agree with the Vermont senator's ideas:
- Allow Government to Negotiate Drug Prices (79%)
- Give Students the Same Low Interest Rates as Big Banks (78%)
- Universal Pre-Kindergarten (77%)
- Fair Trade that Protect Workers, the Environment, and Jobs (75%)
- End Tax Loopholes for Corporations that Ship Jobs Overseas (74%)
- End Gerrymandering (73%)
- Green New Deal — Millions Of Clean-Energy Jobs (70%)
- Close Offshore Corporate Tax Loopholes (70%)
His polls in New Hampshire and Iowa show that people want to see a Sanders administration. Further, the poll has revealed that 91% of all Democrats, 61% of independents and 55% of Republicans support Sen. Sanders policy ideas on the economy.
This indicates that voters are ready to give his ideas a shot. Whether or not the Superdelegates agree is another matter altogether.Of course there are many more issues at stake, but I feel this is a strong indicator of a leader's moral compass.
It must be quite clear that a working senate and house is essential any presidency to function. It is up to us to find suitable replacements for congressmen and congresswomen up for re-election or retirement.
Whomever the nominees are, the big question remains: Who will do the most with his or her position to improve quality of life in the U.S. and around the globe?