In this Sunday’s Parade magazine, Virginia Democrat Senator Jim Webb criticizes the United States for having the largest prison population in world. He states either we (the United States) are the most evil people on earth or we’re doing something very wrong by putting so many people behind bars.
Jim Webb seems to view many criminals as not harmful to society but victims of a dysfunctional and unfair justice system. He believes that drug users and “minor” drug dealers shouldn’t be clogging up our prisons.
I would like to ask Sen. Webb what exactly constitutes a harmless “minor” drug dealer? Maybe we should release these “minor” drug dealers into Webb’s neighborhood where they can be rehabilitated with his liberal compassion.
Webb tries to make an argument for releasing these so called minor criminals by stating that putting these people in jail has done nothing to break up the power of the illegal drug trade or reduced drugs from reaching our citizens. So, letting lower level drug dealers do their thing on our streets should now be a minor offense because the drug trade will still flourish regardless?
Webb is placing misguided blame onto our system. He seems to think our evolution as a society isn’t measured by how well we protect our citizens from criminals but how well we protect nonviolent criminals from facing the consequences of their behavior. Webb thinks treating these people as what they are somehow makes them even more dangerous to society. Again, it’s putting the blame on society and the system instead of the person who decided to commit a crime.
Our prison system does leave something to be desired. It’s not because society is too quick to throw away the key on criminals. Our prison system is the victim of ineffectual government bureaucracy.
I hope the Republican Party will laminate Webb’s Parade magazine article and bring it back to the surface when he runs for re-election. Wanting to release drug dealers from prison is the type of quote that can bury a political career. And we know his original victory was built on macaca.
