Mercy
It looks as if Huckabee’s decision to grant clemency to an unstable criminal will cost him the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Joe Carter, who worked on the governor’s campaign, has written a great post on Huckabee’s views of rehabilitation. A telling quote:
Ironically, what makes Huckabee such an appealing Presidential candidate—his empathy for all people and genuine belief in the individual—is also the trait that will prevent him from ever reaching the White House. His experiences and intuitions that served him well as a minister of the gospel were not always applicable in his role as governor of a state. The unfortunate reality is that for politicians, unlike pastors, there are limits to compassion.
If we are to look at this objectively, this appears to be a thing Huckabee got right. This incident happened 9 years after his commutation. The commutation itself reduced the guys sentence from 108 years or so to 56 years. That made him eligible for parole, which he received after serving 11 years. All of this was over a non-violent offense.Report
I hesitate to comment on the facts of the case, but from what I picked up in the Politico story, I think there was a pretty strong case for clemency.Report
And this is why there is no upside, whatsoever, to granting clemency to anybody.
Sure, you give it to 100 people and 99 of them make a better life for themselves and raise children or whatever it is people do outside of prison but when 1 of them commits murder? Whammo. Governor, you’ve just lost your shot at the presidency.
Better to let the bastards rot in prison.Report
I agree completely. Considering the violence involved in some of his crimes and possession of a firearm he should have rotted in jail. In a little more than two years he was charged with committing eight crimes. Instead of a criminal in jail, we now have four dead cops. Not to mention which I’m sure his family will try and spin this incident.Report
If you’ve missed Willie Horton (AND WHO HASN’T???), you’ll be tickled to know that he’s back and being used as a club against a Republican this time.Report
It’s bit much to go threw having a decent man trashed by the Willie Horton sleaze that R’s oozed out and not point out that they should hold themselves to the same standards.Report
Sure.
Let’s hold them to the same standards and make sure that clemency never, ever gets handed out.
Make sure that there is no upside to doing the right thing and no downside to letting the bastards rot.
This is about temporary partisan advantage, after all.Report
And understand that I say that as someone who LOATHES Huckabee.
I think he’s a (redacted) and I have been known to refer to him as (rhymes with “Huckabee”) and saw him as the only potential candidate sufficient to make me vote for Obama rather than an actually principled (third) party.Report
i think it is more about pointing out the hypocrisy of repub’s if they want to say this isn’t an issue. if a party or a person wants to say X is a problem or Bob isn’t qualified to be dog catcher because he supports X then they should hold their own peeps to that.Report
Is governors not granting clemency often enough a problem?Report
It probably is a problem and they likely should grant more clemency. And get rid of the death penalty and cut back on reducing draconian sentencing guidelines. And it would be great if there was less hypocrisy and poo slinging based political campaigns.Report
Do you think that holding Republicans to their own standards will result in:
A) More clemency being granted
or
B) Less clemency being granted?Report
I vote for B. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.Report
Oh think holding R’s to their own standards will result in the craven response to avoid political trouble by not doing something humane and decent like granting clemency. However I think we are far, far down the road of treating prisoners like refuse that clemency is at best is a minimal issue. But what are the consequences of not holding a party to what is says are its beliefs? At some point if people say they stand for something they should be held to it. But let me be clear I hear where you are coming from, slamming the Hucker for this will not lead to more clemency which is not a good thing.
One option, which entails massive drug use to believe would happen, is for adults to say that maybe prisoners are people, dial down demonizing them and that maybe clemency by R’s or D’s can be a good thing. Maybe the Huckinator will make that argument and start and decent trend in this country.Report
Hurray! Temporary partisan advantage!
That’s probably the upside to identifying with a political party.Report
An while we are at it we tell them it is society’s fault for their bad childhood and throw them a piazza party to encourage their self esteem.Report
(redacted) the Mets.Report
Since when is the truth sleaze? In 1976, Dukakis vetoed the bill that would have stopped lifers like Willie from being eligible for furlough.Report
it’s sleaze when you:
A- make it a personal smear that somehow The Duke doesn’t care if rapists go free to rape and kill. Just because you think people should get out of jail does not mean you are pro-rape.
B- When the Federal prisons, under Reagan, had a simalar policy, so suggesting is some sort of issue with The Duke is just plain stupid.Report
Since The Dook vetoed the bill to stop the furlough program I think you can conclude he cares more about prisoners than the safety of the public. I would like proof that the feds ever allowed people with a life sentence for murder to leave prison on furlough. Even if what you say is true, did Reagan veto a bill to stop those furloughs as The Dook did?Report
Yay! Right and left, working together, to end clemency.
It brings a tear to my eye, it does.Report
What adults and politicians need to do is balance various needs. Saying that some people should get clemency does not put the public at risk ( assuming clemency is granted to the right people and not Chuck Manson Jr.) it is not an either or situation.Report
Unfortunate to say the least. My gimlet eyed take is the same as Jay’s but on the political side of things I’m dissapointed because I had been counting on Huckabee to suck energy from the Palinophiles (they tap similar bases).Report