Rand Paul on Ferguson: 'Blame politicians'

[Eugene]

Source: The Hill

November 25, 2014, 02:17 pm
Rand Paul on Ferguson: 'Blame politicians'

By David McCabe

Sen. Rand Paul is renewing his calls for criminal justice reform in light of the decision by a Missouri grand jury not to file charges in the death of Michael Brown.

The Kentucky senator and possible White House contender said that the events in Ferguson, Mo., have brought into focus the toll that the War on Drugs has taken on communities. Still, he said the policies have put police in a “nearly impossible situation.”

“In the search for culpability for the tragedy in Ferguson, I mostly blame politicians,” he wrote in an op-ed for TIME magazine.

“Michael Brown’s death and the suffocation of Eric Garner in New York for selling untaxed cigarettes indicate something is wrong with criminal justice in America. The War on Drugs has created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation.”

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Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/225310-rand-paul-on-ferguson-i-mostly-blame-politicians

[rurallib]

1. makes me sick to see the little asshole

making hay out of this situation.

[Ykcutnek]

2. Fuck Rand Paul. nt

[bravenak]

3. The little asshole loves this type of shit.

Any chance to try to get some attention.

[Turbineguy]

4. Never miss a chance

to use a tragedy to your advantage.

[think]

5. While people may question Paul's motives I appaud ANY Republican that addresses the problem

That doesn't make me a Republican or a supporter of Republicans. It makes me a person that wants to see the problems addressed.

And MORE Democrats should be speaking out about the problem of excessive use of lethal force by law enforcement and working to make sure the situation is dealt with in away to significantly reduce the deaths of ALL human beings.

Fuck politics. It's time for REAL change and results. And if Rand Paul is going to get involved that should be appauded if it truly brings results in reducing the violence.

[Avalux]

6. He's positioning himself to be the pot decriminalization champion for the youth vote.

And using these tragic deaths to do it. He's needs to look in the fucking mirror.

[JaneyVee]

7. Says the guy who would drone liquor store robbers.

[UglyGreed]

14. +1000 N/T

[Spazito]

8. Says the asshole politician who would re-write the Civil Rights Act to exclude private...

businesses.

[olddots]

9. Rand Paul dose not eat shit sandwiches

He gave up bread .

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. If Rand Paul said the sky was blue...

DU would call him full of shit.

Does anyone actually disagree with what he said?

He has been talking consistently about criminal justice reform. I think we ignore and belittle that at our peril.

[Ykcutnek]

12. "Sorry, Sen. Rand Paul, You’re No Civil Rights Hero"

By the great Rep. Barbara Lee:

We may find some overlap in positions on issues ranging from marijuana to sentencing reform, but when you look at most issues that are near and dear to black voters, Sen. Paul has a long way to go before touting his own civil rights record.

Since the Supreme Court gutted a key component of the Voting Rights Act last year, Sen. Paul has opposed restoring the key federal protections for which the civil rights movement fought so hard to secure. He also supports his party’s efforts to implement stringent voter-ID laws, which studies have shown to disproportionately affect minorities.

Sen. Paul has repeatedly said that businesses should have a right to discriminate, and he’s expressed doubt about the appropriateness of the Civil Rights Act. In a Senate hearing last week, he expressed outrage at the concept of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws by investigating potential violations.

He also opposes an increase in the minimum wage and equal-pay legislation. And once again, African Americans are among those communities who would benefit most from these economic policies.

He’s certainly welcome to seek our votes, but he’ll need to do a much better job if he actually expects to win them. The easiest place to start is to stop blocking legislation that would help our community. And instead of joining Republicans as they sue the president, he should start working with him.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/11/you_re_no_civil_rights_hero_senator_paul.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

18. I know that and you know that. But not everyone is as engaged as we are.

[ZombieHorde]

13. I agree with some and disagree with some of what he said.

The Kentucky senator and possible White House contender said that the events in Ferguson, Mo., have brought into focus the toll that the War on Drugs has taken on communities. Still, he said the policies have put police in a “nearly impossible situation.”

“In the search for culpability for the tragedy in Ferguson, I mostly blame politicians,” he wrote in an op-ed for TIME magazine.

“Michael Brown’s death and the suffocation of Eric Garner in New York for selling untaxed cigarettes indicate something is wrong with criminal justice in America. The War on Drugs has created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation.”

OK. Nice to see a politician saying this.

Paul did not address whether he agreed with the decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Brown, who was unarmed at the time he was killed. Wilson testified to a grand jury that Brown attempted to charge him after an altercation, with witnesses providing conflicting accounts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Paul told Politico that he did not have any thoughts to share about the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson.

Seems like a cowardly response to me.

In the op-ed, he wrote that poverty helps drive young people to commit crimes, but said the solution to that problem won’t be found in government.

This seems a bit crazy to me. The Great Depression and the Industrial Revolution were both very fucked for the average person, but the Government stepped up and helped many, many people.

[Blue_Tires]

15. But as I've shown on a near-daily basis, Paul *IS* full of shit

and he's exploiting this to shamelessly reel in some black support for his presidential run, and his teabagger base always loves anti-politician rhetoric...

And "blame politicians" is one of those nice-looking soundbites, but when you scratch the surface he is diffusing and not targeting his scope of responsibility for this miscarriage of justice...He sounds like he's saying something, but really saying nothing...Does Paul care to list some specific names or policies? Because there are a shitload of politicians out there...Paul himself is a politician, isn't he? So is he holding himself accountable as well? Or is he referring to some generic, unnamed "other" politicians creating generic, unnamed policies in generic, unnamed legislative houses?

And for once can Paul have the stones to mention the racial disparities? Or will pretending for the sake of argument that black lives have the same value as everyone else's cost him too many votes in Kentucky?

And just to reiterate: Paul can talk about all the wonderful touchy-feely stuff he wants to accomplish, but the proof is in the pudding and the Paul boys have historically been long on talk and short on action when the rubber meets the road...

BTW: Believe it or not, Paul isn't the only congresscritter who has been talking about criminal justice reform -- Maybe he needs to have a chat with the Congressional Black Caucus, assuming he's serious about real reform...

(And like it or not, I'll continue to do my part to ensure all Ron/Rand fanboyism is stamped out or at least relegated to the Discussionist where it belongs -- DU needs to quit the snakeoil salesmen cold turkey)

[obliviously]

11. Okay now we will point by point take apart what he said

who is first?

[Initech]

16. Gee which side loves the NRA and worships the gun?

[Jamaal510]

17. I love how he tries to act like

he's above the fray, even though he's also a politician (who could've worked to help prevent this problem).

[Taitertots]

19. Rand Paul: "It's my fault" n/t