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April 16, 2009
What does the tea party movement have to say about taxing and spending on the death penalty, the drug war and mass incarceration?
I am having a hard time figuring out what to think about the whole tea party movement, though at times it seems that even those involved in the movement are not always sure what exactly the whole tea party movement is really about. Helpfully, PJTV and Glenn Reynolds here provide this overview:
America is on the brink of another revolution. In a new American Tea Party, citizens across the USA are beginning to protest giant government programs that reach deep into their pockets. These programs create huge economic burdens on American families and threaten their livelihood now and into the future.
As regular readers know, one of the most sizable "giant government programs" run by many states (especially so-called "red states") are criminal justice programs that "create huge economic burdens" in the course of seeking to execute certain murderers, chasing lots of drug users and dealers, and locking up many thousands of individuals. I hope that criminal justice programs, which seems likely to result in as much wasteful spending as any other "giant government program," do not that escape the attention and criticisms of those involved in the tea party movement.
Of course, much of the tea party movement seems focused on federal spending, but again there is reason to have serious criminal justice spending concerns. This page at the DOJ websitenotes that the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R.1) includes $4 billion in Department of Justice grant funding to enhance state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts, including the hiring of new police officers, to combat violence against women, and to fight internet crimes against children." Though $4 billion no longer seems like a lot of money, the array of scandals and problems surrounding DOJ in recent years leads me to hope that the tea party folks will keep the "giant" Justice Department in its critical sights.
Some related (old and new) posts:
- The state of cost problems in the states of prison nation
- Terrific commentary and assessment of the war on drugs
- Why we need a re-entry czar and a task force on the prison economy
- Why is Senator Jim Webb the only national figure focused on the prison economy?
- A dollars and sense criticism of Senator Obama's crime-fighting plans
- A good question about prison nation ... dodged
- Senator Biden, crime and punishment
- What will the new libertarian presidential candidate say about mass incarceration and the drug war?
- FSR publishes issue on "American Criminal Justice Policy in a 'Change' Election"
April 16, 2009 at 01:28 PM | Permalink
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Comments
The tea party is mere astroturf, funded by offshoots of the republican party and flogged by faux news. Even the Daily Show was hip to that last night.
Our local paper estimated that crowd at 200. I saw them, and 200 was generous. An astroturfer wrote to the paper complaining the crowd was 3,000. War is peace.
Posted by: John Minock | Apr 16, 2009 1:52:36 PM
"another revolution"
Hilarious! For being "conservative," the right likes to invoke the word "revolution" quite frequently and, seemingly, at the drop of a hat. The right’s use of the term is becoming quite predictable and antiquated.
Posted by: DEJ | Apr 16, 2009 2:20:02 PM
Spending on the death penalty is pretextual. So, ideally, the defendant should just be taken downstairs in the courthouse basement, shot in the head and removed via the loading dock. All additional expenses have no justification, and are lawyer rent seeking. The lawyer allows 17,000 murders, six times more frequent in blacks. Those are every year, without fail. This massive intentional tort is with scienter, planetary orbit grade scienter, contains lawyer racial animus, and warrants deterrence in torts.
Posted by: Supremacy Claus | Apr 16, 2009 4:05:55 PM
I am an immigrant from South America. My best friend and friends were drug dealers and some drug users while I was growing up in Astoria NY. Lot's of Greeks, Italians and Latinos. I'll jump right to something I saw last time I visited Queens. Just north of Astoria used to exist a beautiful, very cultural Greek Community that I thought would never in a million years go away. It was the Ditmars Blvd area. The Latinos, both from South and Central America used to be very sucessfull in their drug deals south of Ditmars. Since then, they have moved into Ditmars and taken over. All you see now is what looks like a 3rd world country. I know because I come from a Ghetto in a 3rd World Country.
Anyhow, getting back to my friends, and my Great, Charismatic, and very very generous best Friend. After becoming a fairly sucessfull drug dealer, his world fell apart shortly after, later he was being tracked by NY Detectives and later went to jail, twice. According to him, jail was the best thing that ever happened to him! Same goes for all the other friends that dealt and did drugs. From what I see, jail was a blessing for most. The others, well... they are more than likely committing haneous crimes.
- Guillermo
Liberal Emphathy - The ability to relate to the perpretrator and never the victim. The ability and desire to accuse the victim. The ability to refer to the perperator as the victim. And the ability to always blame the victim. All of the above are true, except for when crime hits home and affects the liberal personally!!! Then the tune changes.
Posted by: Guillermo | Apr 16, 2009 5:09:30 PM
More conservative propaganda Guillermo, where does it say anything about 'blaming the victims' in this article? Its alway black and white with you people, either your for the victims or for the criminals. What about all the crimes people get locked up for that don't have victims?
Posted by: MarkM | Apr 16, 2009 5:43:47 PM
Lawyers identify with perps because their rent seeking is a form of armed robbery, and they are all perps, themselves. They give professional courtesy to the criminal.
Posted by: Supremacy Claus | Apr 16, 2009 5:56:02 PM
I think the Tea Party movement focuses on federal programs and spending because they believe in the Constitutional rights of the individual States as laid out by the founding fathers.
The Civil War stripped the states of their rights and powers, centralizing these powers in the federal government in a way that had not been originally intended.
This centralization of power can be seen by examining the contrast in pre and post legislative language; prior to the war, when the federal government took a position, the language stated that The United States of America are in favor of blah blah blah… which is grammatically correct. After the Civil War, the language shifted to The United States of America is in favor of blah blah blah… which is grammatically incorrect but accurately illustrates the centralization of power within the federal government.
The Constitution declares this nation a democratic republic of free and independent states, not a federal democracy. There is a huge difference between these two forms of government, and the outrage we are witnessing is a result of people being educated on the differences between the government in its current form and the original government as intended by our founding fathers.
Posted by: Lawrence Allhands | Aug 20, 2009 5:34:07 PM
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Posted by: Lawrence Allhands | Aug 20, 2009 5:36:23 PM
I think the Tea Party movement focuses on federal programs and spending because they believe in the Constitutional rights of the individual States as laid out by the founding fathers.
The Civil War stripped the states of their rights and powers, centralizing these powers in the federal government in a way that had not been originally intended. This centralization of power can be seen by examining the contrast in pre and post legislative language; prior to the war, when the federal government took a position, the language stated that The United States of America are in favor of blah blah blah… which is grammatically correct. After the Civil War, the language shifted to The United States of America is in favor of blah blah blah… which is grammatically incorrect but accurately illustrates the centralization of power within the federal government.
The Constitution declares this nation a democratic republic of free and independent states, not a federal democracy. There is a huge difference between these two forms of government, and the outrage we are witnessing is a result of people being educated on the differences between the government in its current form and the original government as intended by our founding fathers.
Posted by: Lawrence Allhands | Aug 20, 2009 5:38:11 PM
It's not fair to have people who have to take their punishment, all have to pay for feeding the stay and even death, not fair!
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It's not fair to have people who have to take their punishment, all have to pay for feeding the stay and even death, not fair!
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As regular readers know, one of the most sizable "giant government programs" run by many states (especially so-called "red states") are criminal justice programs that "create huge economic burdens" in the course of seeking to execute certain murderers, chasing lots of drug users and dealers,
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I think the Tea Party movement focuses on federal programs and spending because they believe in the Constitutional rights of the individual States as laid out by the founding fathers.
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The Civil War stripped the states of their rights and powers, centralizing these powers in the federal government in a way that had not been originally intended.
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