Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumSanders has the credibility Trump lacks on criminal justice reform
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Sanders is the only 2020 presidential candidate who has spent a lifetime addressing the social ills and injustices that gave rise to the mass incarceration, police violence and racial profiling that plague our system today.
(snip)
Instead of meeting this crisis of inequality with investments in living wage jobs, health care and education, America spends $80 billion each year on a prison-industrial complex that punishes people for being poor. As a result, tens of millions of young black men and women are trapped in a criminal justice system that disenfranchises them from political and economic life in this country.
(snip)
As the son of lifelong law enforcement officials, I understand the challenges that our uniformed men and women face in the line of duty. But as a civil rights attorney, I also understand the dysfunction in too many police forces and city governments as well as the frustration of many who feel targeted time and again. We must work to rebuild trust and prevent crime by investing in our children and our communities.
I am supporting Bernie Sanders because I believe that investing in prevention, public health and fair sentencing is the best approach to criminal justice reform and because Sanders is the best candidate to ensure justice and safety for all.
https://www.thestate.com/opinion/article236646983.html
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
George II
(67,782 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Uncle Joe
(58,417 posts)(snip)
In 2015 he represented the family of police-shooting victim Walter Scott. In October 2015, Bamberg, an attorney with the law firm of Bamberg Legal in Bamberg, South Carolina, along with attorney L. Chris Stewart of Stewart Seay & Felton in Atlanta, Georgia, negotiated a $6.5 million pre-suit settlement on behalf of the Estate of Walter Scott to resolve claims for wrongful death and civil rights violations. It was the largest pre-suit settlement of its kind in South Carolina history.[4] The former officer, Michael Slager, pled guilty to federal civil rights violations and sentenced to 20 years for the murder of Walter Scott.[5]
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Bamberg has served as attorney for clients in some of the United States' most high-profile cases, particularly in regards to officer-involved incidents.[8][9] In addition to the Walter Scott case, Bamberg has represented the families of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana;[10] Bryant Heyward in Hollywood, South Carolina;[11] and Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina.[12] Bamberg represented the family of 20-year old Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas of Raleigh, North Carolina, who was shot and killed by a neighbor when leaving a house party in August 2016 a shooting that drew comparisons to Trayvon Martin's death in Florida,[13] and "Jane Doe," an Orangeburg County, South Carolina woman who was allegedly coerced into performing a sex act by an on-duty deputy sheriff.[14] In 2017, Bamberg resolved the civil case against the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office pre-suit for $350,000, stating at the time: "Most officers and the departments in which they serve are amazing, and we should be grateful that they have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting us all; however, we must continue to fight against any abuse of power. And we will play an important role in addressing that issue."[15]
(snip)
In addition to his civil rights trial work, Bamberg has successfully represented individuals in personal injury and wrongful death matters, such as the fatal tractor trailer accident that claimed the life of a Bamberg City Councilwoman in 2015,[22] and a Duke University Hospital employee who was sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant while on the job.[23]
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Bamberg has been nationally recognized for his work as a trial lawyer, the Los Angeles Times having said of him: "Bamberg has emerged as a rising star in a quasi-fraternity of lawyers who bill themselves as both civil rights fighters and tort attorneys who can win millions of dollars in wrongful-death payouts."[26] In November 2016, Bamberg founded the trial lawyer firm Bamberg Legal, LLC,[27] a plaintiff litigation law firm focusing primarily on personal injury, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and civil rights/use of force litigation.[28] Bamberg was noted in August 2017 to have been "exploring" a possible run for governor in the State of South Carolina, the same stirring conversation on the possibility of the state having its first Democratic governor in over a decade.[29]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Bamberg
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
bluewater
(5,376 posts)And isn't he still defending ramming it thru? Yes.
Joe Bidens defense of the 1994 crime bills role in mass incarcerations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/16/joe-bidens-defense-crime-bills-role-incarceration-trend/
Joe Biden Defends Co-Authoring 1994 Crime Bill At NAACP Convention
https://www.bet.com/news/national/2019/07/28/joe-biden-defends-crime-bill.html
So your point is?
That it's bad to realize that much more work needs to be done on criminal justice reform?
That we should all still defend the 1994 Crime Bill like Biden is doing?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
George II
(67,782 posts)....that was passed overwhelmingly in 1994. BIG difference.
So your point is?
Now, please find a quote of Biden's where he says that the 1994 crime bill is still valid and relevant in 2019. It will be a long and probably fruitless search.
It should also be noted that in 1995 when Democrats wanted to correct the disparity of penalties between crack cocaine and powder cocaine by lowering that for crack, Sanders refused to support it. Instead he insisted that the penalty for powder cocaine be raised to that for crack cocaine.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,376 posts)This idea that the crime bill generated mass incarceration, it did not generate mass incarceration."
Former vice president Joe Biden (D-Del.), in remarks in Nashua, N.H., May 14, 2019
...
The Pinocchio Test
Biden tries to deflect criticism that the 1994 crime bill contributed to an increase in incarceration by pinning the blame on the states for building more prisons and passing tougher laws. But the federal law set the tone and the bill he crafted included incentives for states to overhaul their laws and build more prisons.
There are many factors that contributed to the United States having such a high incarceration rate, but few dispute the crime bill was a contributor. Bill Clinton has acknowledged this. If Biden is going to lay claim to the Biden Crime Bill, he also needs to take ownership of some of its flaws apparent a quarter-century later.
Two Pinocchios
(The Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/16/joe-bidens-defense-crime-bills-role-incarceration-trend/
And Sanders has admitted that the 1994 Crime Bill was flawed and he railed against those flaws at the time and has said it was a mistake to have voted for it.
Biden, as you admit, is also still defending co-authoring that bill.
So my point is you are wrong, Biden IS still defending the 1994 Crime Bill and fact checkers gave him Two Pinocchios for that defense.
So, again, what was YOUR point?
That it's bad to realize that much more work needs to be done on criminal justice reform?
That we should all still defend the 1994 Crime Bill like Biden is doing?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
George II
(67,782 posts)....in the Senate (95-4) and fairly easily in the House with 75% majority of Democrats (235-195, 188-64 Democrats)
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
OldRed2450
(710 posts)and as recently as 2006 touted this fact in a section of his website labeled Bernie Sanders strong record of supporting tough on crime legislation. The page also included his votes for funding for antidrug and other crime programs. In 1995, Sanders also voted against a bill whose aim was to demilitarize the police.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanders-now-a-reformer-once-boasted-of-being-223600102.html
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(11,991 posts)Biden championed his bill and supported all its provisions.
Sanders made his issues with the crime bill well known, and tried to amend it, ultimately voting for it despite what he saw as its flaws. There were things he liked (he's spoken about the Violence Against Women provisions), but things he spoke against even as he voted for it, including voting for an amendment to take the death penalty out of it. Ignore the obnoxious background music, this video makes the point, comparing how the two of them discussed the 1994 bill as it was happening... one thinking it was a great bill (and with his name on it), the other speaking against it despite ultimately voting for it as a difficult compromise. Virtually all of what Bernie said, he'd say today. I assume/hope that's not true of Biden.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
OldRed2450
(710 posts)I don't think he gets anywhere near the criticism he should get. He was proud he voted for it according to him in 2006. I always thought, "watch what they DO not what they SAY" to be more important.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(11,991 posts)That's simplistic. Both are important. Put another way, if he voted AGAINST the bill, people would be criticizing him for voting the wrong way on violence against women. You have to listen to what someone says when an issue is complex and its component parts can't be broken out and understood by virtue of a simple yes or no vote. Sanders was in favor of some aspects of the bill, but against the punitive aspects. But he could not vote for some parts without the others.
So here is how his site touted that vote in 2006, directly from the link in the article you referenced:
https://web.archive.org/web/20061018180921/http:/www.bernie.org/truth/crime.html
and elsewhere on the page, he also touted his support of the COPS program which was also part of that bill.
Why would it be wrong to tout those elements of what he voted for that made him vote for the bill in the first place? Do you have a link showing he was proud of it or touting it in 2006 in any other way? Because the article you linked to is poor support. One can be "tough on crime" in some ways, and not in others. For example, he supported more cops on the street, he did not support the death penalty. The article has a silly clickbait headline. He was always a reformer, yet that doesn't mean he did not also support anti-crime measures. I'm against private prisons. That doesn't mean I leave my home unlocked.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Uncle Joe
(58,417 posts)an entrenched, comfortable and powerful dysfunctional status quo that can be a double edged sword.
Ie; righteous anger coupled with vision can be perceived as "arrogance" or "self-righteousness" or at the very least falsely presented as such by his opponents.
The psychological or emotional price of being a "prophet in your own land," conscious or subconscious guilt usually drives that.
Peace to you.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
George II
(67,782 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
beastie boy
(9,421 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Uncle Joe
(58,417 posts)I believe Trump won South Carolina.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
tishaLA
(14,176 posts)simply because they can't pay bail--and those people are disproportionately black and brown--has real street cred on criminal justice reform.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
betsuni
(25,615 posts)hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly African-Americans, were being held in jail for months or years, even though they've never been convicted of a crime, simply because they can't afford bail. I've learned a lot. I see the racial disparities clearer than ever."
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)they know less about about criminal justice than Bernie? Yes, I know all about the complaints about Harris as AG, and most are just propaganda. As the head of the second largest prosecutorial agency in the country, she can't be held to the standard of perfection.
And, since being in the Senate, both have written or sponsored more crime legislation than Bernie has.
Once again, Bernie is all talk, no substance.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)It's easy to be better than Trump. It's harder for any one individual to look equally good when stacked up against the DEMOCRATS who are seeking the Democratic Nomination for POTUS.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(11,991 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
comradebillyboy
(10,175 posts)than Sanders on actually getting things done.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden