McCain calls for Iraq-style "surge" in US neighborhoods battling high crime

[sabra]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2008/08/surge-at-home.html

Are neighborhoods in this country in need of an Iraq-style "surge"?

ABC's David Wright checks in after Senator McCain's appearance at the Urban League.

"Answering a question about his approach to combatting crime, John McCain suggested that military strategies currently employed by US troops in Iraq could be applied to high crime neighborhoods here in the US. McCain called them tactics 'somewhat like we use in the military...You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control. And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement.' The way he described it, his approach sounded an awful lot like the surge. As part of his argument, McCain praised the crime-fighting efforts of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; Urban League president Marc Morial countered that while New York did experience a drop in crime under Giuliani, there were several major instances of police misconduct. To which McCain promised aggressive prosecution of civil rights violations and a Justice Department free from political cronyism."

[ErinBerin84]

1. surge! apply directly to the forehead. surge! apply directly to the forehead.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. totally

[Avalux]

2. I really think he's worse than Bush.

Never thought I'd say that, but this is clearly nutcase thinking. Martial Law anyone?

[SuperTrouper]

17. He is truly insane

McMussollini

[ecstatic]

22. Agreed. McCain is as nutty as they come and his "clever" ideas

are quite scary. I don't think he would have any reservations about rounding certain groups up in the event of another war.

[Union Thug]

3. So McInsane is calling for a police state?

Guess it's not surprising.

[geek tragedy]

4. OMG.

he's nuts

[Kittycat]

5. Cool. Can we bomb schools, churches and neighborhoods too?

Just like they do in Iraq? And if they miss... Oops, casualty of war.

ETA: :sarcasm:

[atreides1]

9. Not casualty of war.

You're thinking collateral damage, like helicopter gunships attacking wedding parties.

This proves to me that this man has gone over the edge and will do and say anything to get to the White House.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Yeah, let's build walls and checkpoints, let's make all the inner-city

residents show their ID every time they come and go from their neighborhoods, let's kick in some doors on mere suspicion, let's bribe gang members to rat on each other--hell, let's arm them to kill each other, just the way we did with the Sunnis. Good idea, McNutz, you run with those scissors!

[Mz Pip]

8. How will he pay for it?

With tax cuts?

I'm sure most large cities would love to have more police on the streets but they can't afford it. Not the the money comes from the feds, but it does come from local taxes. Someone should point that out to McCain. Being such and expert in economics, I'm sure he'll find a solution. :sarcasm:

[butterfly77]

10. He and bush's policies over the years have caused a lot of the problems...

after they send in blackwater then what? These people have no idea..

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. McCain's America - A police state.

Absolutely nuts.

[countingbluecars]

12. What does that mean?

Kick down the doors, terrorize the women and children, and round up the men?

[TwilightGardener]

16. Yes. He's talking about a police state.

[Coexist]

13. Noun, verb, SURGE!

[JaneQPublic]

14. A term someone needs to explain to McSame:

Posse Comitatus

[BeyondGeography]

15. What a fucking loon Gramps is turning out to be

[Renew Deal]

27. He's obsessed with proving how tough he is.

So if Obama is tough, he has to show he's tougher. Obama needs to work smarter, not harder.

[donco6]

18. Torches and Pitchforks for Everyone! eom

[HockeyMom]

19. Citizen Patrols, Community Associations,

not a police state. Many neighborhoods in NYC have been taken back by the people who live in these communities themselves taking an active part (in conjuction with local police) in improving their OWN living conditions. When they themsleves stop being afraid and go on the offensive against the criminals.

[Occam Bandage]

20. So, McCain is in favor of turning military tactics against civilians.

Wow. A Republican presidential candidate has actually called for something that resembles a police state. Odds anybody will call him on this?

[TwilightGardener]

21. What do you think he means by "clamping down" on these neighborhoods?

And making sure "known criminals" are "under control"--wouldn't "known criminals" be arrested and charged with crimes? I have no idea what he means by this.

[Occam Bandage]

23. I'd guess something like the broken-window theory: send in a bunch of cops,

have large-scale visible police presence on the streets, and prosecute all crimes, regardless of severity, to the maximum extent legally possible. Plus, you know, push the boundaries of legality in personal, residential, and automotive search-and-seizures. That too.

[TwilightGardener]

24. I don't think that was what he was talking about. Because increasing

police presence has ALWAYS been the first answer to high-crime neighborhoods. I think he's talking about controlling the locals.

[Occam Bandage]

25. I think that, on the tactical level,

he'd be in favor of massively increased levels of police presence in day-to-day life--submitting to random street searches, doors kicked down, etc. Beyond that, I don't really think he's calling for much more, to be honest. He's not a man of ideas; he's a man of rephrasing our current failed policies as "tough," manly, new alternatives.

That's my take. I think it's a dangerous statement, and I think it's one that should have privacy advocates fuming, but I don't think it's one that goes beyond Giuliani's legacy in New York (which was certainly not a civil-rights picnic).

[Renew Deal]

26. Will we use cops or army for the surge?

And can they kick down doors without warrants, imprison anybody that looks suspicious, and torture people? We can use Phoenix as Guantanamo.

[Disturbed]

28. A part of the Surge was paying off warring factions & providing them

with weapons. Would paying off gangs & providing them with weapons be part of McNasty's Surge on American neighborhoods?

[Renew Deal]

29. They can pay me off

:D

[crimsonblue]

30. it's too bad this is illegal

without a declaration of martial law, no military soldiers may be used on domestic civilians. Not to mention that these troops would likely commandeer and quarter in civilian homes, a clear violation of the Constitution.

[Odin2005]

31. A broken clock is right twice a day...

People shouldn't have to live in fear every time they leave their home because of being gunned down by gangsters.

[ellacott]

32. And citizens shouldn't have to worry about being gunned down by an overzealous cop

I wonder how many more Sean Bells or Amadou Diallo's there would be under McCain's proposed plan.

[goodgd_yall]

33. Did CSPAN air this?

[goodgd_yall]

34. Never mind I found a link

I think it's just highlights though. http://www.broadcasturban.net/webcast/nul2008/day3_plenary3.htm