You can read a little more about the issue here, but the rundown goes like this: Clemmons was 16 when he was sentenced to 106 years for violent acts. 47 years later, Huckabee was governor of Arkansas and commuted his sentence. Clemmons moved to Washington state and killed 4 police officers. Huckabee say it wasn't his fault. It was Washington's.
WTF?
Standard Republican line: Every criminal, especially violent ones, should be locked up and the key should disappear. Bad enough then it's off with their head, despite that we're in agreement with the same countries we despise when the Good ol' USA breaches the topic of the death penalty. Empty prisons because of overcrowding? Hell NO! Tax and spend and build some more.
I think then-Gov. Huckabee had a Liberal moment, which is kind of like a senior moment but instead of being built on senility, this was built on understanding and compassion, something not generally exhibited by Republicans. Hell, I would've done the same thing.
So why am I even writing about this?
Because of the double standard. If it had been a member of the Democratic Party that had commuted this sentence, the Right Wing, their talk show army, and the Fox footsoldiers would've been all aflourish in and drunk on schadenfreude: Liberals ruining the country, the bleeding heart of the Liberal causes real bleeding, Liberals hate cops, etc. But when a Republican does it, he issues a non-apology and our alleged left-leaning press barely covers the issue.
I guess the silver lining of all this bullshit is one more down. I'm guessing this event, no matter how glossed over, is going to hurt him for Repub nomination 2012, which means my preferred DreamGirl and ClownLady, Sarah Palin, is one step closer to making a complete fool of herself as the nominee.
So what's your take on this whole debacle?
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November Full Moon Altar: Inanna
1 hour ago
3 comments:
I totally agree on the silver lining to this horrible situation. At least it pretty much eliminates Huckabee from ever having a chance at the presidency.
RC, sorry I'm late to the discussion. And for the record, I'm pretty L&O for a liberal. Cases like this prove to me that some people aren't "redeemable". But, then, he WAS totally mentally ill -- some days were better than others. And the question becomes: can crazy be cured in prison? Of course not. Sadly, we'll never know if conventional psych treatment would have helped.
I haven't heard much about Huckabee's other clemency case: a repeat rapist was out just one month before he raped and murdered a Missouri woman. Rumor was that Huck received $$$ for his "war chest" from someone "sponsoring" the felon's clemency request. 0-for-2 is how I score it...
BTW, my husband and I drive for a large Tacoma-based company. And the Forza coffee shop is diagonally across from our national HQ in Lakepark. We received messages from Dispatch how to enter our yard through the police roadblock. We were east of the Mississippi during that time. But he and I knew what was happening.
Great comment Naomi- Thanks for the insight!
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