CPAC Features Sheriff Who Likened #BlackLivesMatter to ISIS and Wants to Stop Criminal Justice Reform
"Stop cuddling up to crime."
The Conservative Political Action Committee played host to a lively debate on criminal justice reform. One of the featured speakers, tough-on-crime talking head Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke—who once compared BlackLivesMatter to ISIS terrorists—took the extreme anti-reform position.
"Reform flies in the face of getting tough on crime, which has led to record lows of violent crime in your communities," said Clarke.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the American Conservative Union's Pat Nolan pushed back against Clarke's assertions. Cuccinelli took the moderate position that conservatives ought to be involved in criminal justice reform so that it "gets done right."
"We're bankrupt," said Cuccinelli, noting that releasing low level non-violent offenders would save money.
Nolan was even more adamant about the need for reform. "We're filling prisons with people we're mad at," he said.
Clarke vehemently contested Nolan's statistics.
"Figures lie and liars figure," said the sheriff. "Stop cuddling up to crime."
Clarke did, however, have some compassion for teenage offenders who committed minor transgressions. He said more ought to be done to prevent them from becoming career criminals, though he didn't have the answer.
Many in the audience applauded his tough-on-crime talking points, though Nolan and Cuccinelli scored some cheers as well.
"There's more dope in prison than outside of it," Nolan quipped as the discussion came to an end.
"Not in my jail there's not," replied the sheriff.
Reason covered the 2014 CPAC, where Grover Norquist presented the conservative case for criminal justice reform. Watch that video below.
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Read the post twice, and still didn’t see any mention of Trump.
What gives?
The Trumpness is implicit in his self-hating racist views re: #BLM
I was just watching him on TV talk about how much he loves the police, so don’t worry, he’s definitely on Sheriff Clarke’s side.
Listening to this on the Freespan; that sheriff could end every statement with, “Fuck criminals, amirite?”
Best lines so far, approximate: “I am on the street level. I am in the belly of the beast, every day. Think of the single mother, working her tail off to keep her kid on the straight and narrow. Now think of the drug pusher on the corner, and his influence. Figures Lie and Liars Figure.”
This guy can’t stop thinking about the kids, thank god.
So he admits drugs are better than working your tail off.
He probably likes the single mothers who are startled by his shiny brass badges. Single mothers love the Statist Size Twelves. Doc Martin’s Authoritarian Edition.
Flung bodily from the room…say, 7 feet, 3 inches away?
Those figures lie.
Yeah, but these hips don’t.
Yeah, but that’s just a test by lying figurers to see how good *your* figure-based lying is.
His website’s URL? “http://thepeoplessheriff.com”
*insert response from Barfman here*
The Peoples’ Sheriff does have a pleasantly authoritarian ring to it, you have to admit.
Just like the “People’s Court” and the “People’s Party” and the “People’s Industry” and the… Bolshevism? How did we get to Bolshevism already?
So we’re getting served up a big batch of faggot cookies?
unrelated, but I bet a guy could clean up at CPAC. You could probably cut the sexual tension in that place with a knife.
kind of wanted to go because of the proximity of it, but didn’t feel like accidentally catching someone like this speaking and also paying for a ticket..
I’m sure you could, but most of the guys there wouldn’t want you to approach them in full public view. Best to wait until you get them alone in the mens room.
It’s best to adopt a wide stance
^This, Hugh. Lee, most guys on the DL looking for gay action tend to be bottoms.
Is there some way for Idle to pick them out of the crowd? It would be kind of tedious to for him to just bogart a stall all day tapping his foot every time a dude enters the next one over.
Ha! I honestly don’t know. My “gaydar” doesn’t work. But there are the gay hookup social media apps for smartphones.
might not have a choice I’ve never had that great of a gaydar.
One of my law school buddies was gay. I honestly had no clue until just before graduation. And its not like, in retrospect, he was doing much to keep it in the closet, either.
I think the code here is talking about how you prayed the gay away. Followed by an invitation to pray together.
Interesting. I would have sort of expected the other way round. But I suppose that being penetrated is the sexual experience that more guys are missing out on.
Even the tops have trouble, but it’s far worse for the bottoms. You can only pretend so much that the woman you’re with is actually a guy. It’s not just the physical sensation, gay men really like the whole sex with other men thing – their bodies, their pheromones, etc.
Are you trying to tell me that gays aren’t just libertine, sensualist sex-maniacs?
(this is a joke, in case my sarcasm isn’t getting across well today)
Well, not just… LOL
And I got the joke, but I, apparently, have a reputation for being unreasonable on this topic.
I was thinking of the women folk but yeah that would probably be a more target rich demographic.
There’s no womyn at CPAC, well maybe a few suffering from false consciousness, but no real womyn. /progtard
If Cuccinelli had been as strong on civil liberties and limited government during the governor’s election as he is now, he might have gotten elected. Instead, he focused on bullshit socon stuff like whether colleges were giving extra preference to gays.
All I can remember hearing is that he was an “extremist who would probe women with an ultrasound.” I think the Bob McDonnell fallout sealed his fate more than anything though.
He played up to the socon vote. McDonnell certainly didn’t help though.
True, he did cover Virtus on the state seal.
And he fought hard to keep the state’s anti-sodomy law. His justification was that it would only be used selectively against child molesters. That one really stuck in my craw.
That one really stuck in my craw.
Why, because you’re a child molester, or because you want children to be molested? WHY DO YOU HATE CHILDREN!!!1!!!1!!!!! /sarc
I just do, I can’t help it
I forgot about that. Yeah that was incredibly retarded.
Thank god that is the only law we have against child molesters. He really screwed the Cooch, but as someone else pointed out, the socons just can’t help themselves. They are kind of like vegans.
he was always going to lose no matter his positions because McDonnell . The Dems won VA with a carpetbagger who leaves a trail of arrests everywhere he goes.
also the republicans completely bailed on him in the final weeks because of Mcdonnell and he still only lost by a couple of points.
This was one of the more depressing points for a nativist like me, a New Yorker vs a New Jerseyan for governor of Virginia.
But that’s what socons do, Lee. And as long as the GOP continues to prioritize they will continue down the path they are now on. They would have to have a strong motivation to cast the socons loose. As much as I wish there were more liberty-first voters out there, they just don’t seem to exist.
Death is taking out the socon demographic. Trump’s rise is a bit of evidence. By 2020 it will be obvious.
I always thought Cuccinelli looked as terrified as anybody else at the prospect of him becoming governor. Even in his own campaign ads, he looked scared as hell.
Robby, you forgot Trump.
In a one-on-one battle, which hair would win?
Donald Trump had no comment.
I like the argument that police stopping terrorists in San Bernardino means police are incapable of doing bad things anywhere else in the country.
There was one meme on Derpbook from a leftie that I actually agreed with. it was a quote from Jon Stewart, something along the lines that we can respect police for doing a difficult job, and at the same time, hold them to a high standard of behavior.
The police stopped the San Bernadino terrorists? I’m sure the employees of the county department of health are surprised by this description of events. He should have used the “Draw Mohammed” cops.
Well, eventually.
By that metric police stopped the Boston Marathon bombings as well.
The bombers, anyway.
What Irish said, even though I’m sure it’s somehow vaguely racist.
If this were a white cop I already would have erected a shrine in his honor.
Ha!
Fuck you, HM. I’m not watching the Kelly Thomas video again. My soul is not yet callused and scarred enough to bear the abuse.
“”Figures lie and liars figure,” said the sheriff. “Stop cuddling up to crime.” ”
This is the most anti-intellectual sentence I’ve ever heard from someone who wasn’t a) Sarah Palin or b) a campus political activist.
The guy is a idiot
somebody should ask him what he likes to read.
“I only read the fear as it flits across a perp’s face. It’s my Bible.”
I suspect he is unaware that “coddling” is actually a word, so used “cuddling” added the “up” to make it sound right.
I agree that we should be tough on criminals. The problem is who the govt defines as criminals.
Murderers, arsonists, robbers, etc. should be punished (proportionately to the crime). But obviously most of us here think we shouldn’t be putting in jail people for consenting sexual behavior (whether or not money changes hands) or for putting some kinds of chemicals into their bodies vs other kinds.
But, I don’t think we should release people from jail because it costs money. Building prisons (or paying private prisons) is a legitimate function of govt. If someone should be in jail, then we should keep them in jail. If they shouldn’t be in jail, then get them out of there.
“I agree that we should be tough on criminals. The problem is who the govt defines as criminals.”
How about those who sign technology-protection and confidential-information-handling agreements and then promptly violate both the letter and spirit of those agreements from start to finish, all while selling the influence of their office?
Oh wait, we’re just talking about ordinary citizens — not our overlords. Never mind.
Shouldn’t the headline include something about sheriff douchebag being featured in a debate? You know, a discussion where competing views are aired? Being misleading by omission is a bit of a dick move.
Headlines from his website:
I can only assume that Beyonce is a criminal in his district Sheriff Clarke would like to handcuff.
To be fair, Farrakhan may not be the devil but I’m pretty sure they’re cousins.
Well, I’d like to handcuff Beyonce, so I can’t hold that against him.
Another problem is with the expression “criminal justice reform”. Obviously it means different things to different people.
To some people it means shortening sentences on legitimate criminals just because they are black. In that case I am against.
To others however, it means that we should have sentences that are commensurate with the crime, that there should be some sort of parity in sentencing and allowing judges more leeway in sentencing guidelines. This I am all for.
But what did have to say about Trump? Asking for a friend…
Rico, you spelled Cuccinelli’s name two different ways in your article. The spelling in my comment is the correct one. No Nikki.
“Stop cuddling up to crime.”
Such insight! This guy is like a real-life version of MacGruff, the dog who takes a bite of crime — except for any semblance of cartoonish cuteness.
Never mind about the crimes committed by never-have-answer-for-anything, union-protected cops who mow down kids with water pistols, ventilate bedridden suicidal dads, and give toddlers third-degree burns. Clarke doesn’t mind if a hundred innocent stoners have to go to prison if it helps keep even one genuine thug off the streets.
Now, all he needs is an big fedora, a trench coat, and some cute floppy hound dog ears.
Well, he already has a fedora and a trench coat for when he has to tail female perps.
/ifyouknowwhatimean
He’s MLG?
Finally, this “non-violent” canard. I agree that someone who robs another at gunpoint, probably should get more time than a pick pocket (all other things being equal). But BOTH are legitimate criminals. But I am sure at no point at CPAC would they entertain the idea of releasing those who were jailed for prostitution or drug possession. Or drug dealing (if they weren’t also found guilty of a real crime).
I kind of like the idea of no prison time for non-violent crimes. Prison is just awful and inhuman and fines and restitution are probably sufficient punishment for most non-violent crime.
Hell, if I had any faith in the ability of government to apply a death penalty in a fair way, I’d almost want to say get rid of prisons altogether and just kill anyone who commits unjustified acts of violence against other people.
I kind of like the idea of no prison time for non-violent crimes
Somebody who cons your mother out of her life savings, so she has to eke by on government welfare, shouldn’t go to jail?
I’d rather they be forced to pay it back or work it off. Failing that, I guess I’d like to see them locked up or something.
It’s just an idea I like to kick around, not something I’m sure is the right answer.
Somebody who cons your mother out of her life savings,
You mean like Ben Bernanke or any tax-raising politician?
You’d be shocked at how many elderly people really do get conned out of their life savings.
And yes, it pisses me the fuck off. Full restitution plus jail time sounds right to me, but you know what?
There’s never any of it left for restitution. So if you are saying restitution or jail, you might as well just say jail.
The problem with focusing on non-violent offenders is that they are a tiny fraction of the prison population. Anybody who gets a firearms charge is classified a violent criminal. You were carrying a gun for protection when the cops caught you with a dimebag? Congratulations; you’re a violent criminal.
You beat me to that and said that better than I did.
See also, additional charges like Resisting Arrest Without Violence. Did you ignore the legal commands of the police officer arresting you? Congratulations, you’re now a violent criminal.
Now there’s some shit. “Resisting arrest without violence” counts as violence?
The problem with focusing on non-violent offenders is that they are a tiny fraction of the prison population.
Except that you’re wrong.
The practical problem is that many of those imprisoned for drug crimes are also there for gun crimes. Now, some of those gun crimes are indeed ginned-up bullshit crimes like happening to own a gun not used in the drug crime. But due to pleading out and overcharging the system has guaranteed that as many people of possible can be labelled as dangerous, violent criminals. It is impossible to underestimate the tenacity and evil of the drug prohibition industry.
Non-violent also includes all of the consensual crimes that shouldn’t be crimes. I agree that that shouldn’t be the main distinction. Property crimes are legitimate crimes as well. But as it is now, nonviolent covers a lot of people that shouldn’t have been considered criminals at all in the first place.
The focus shouldn’t be non-violent vs violent, it should be victimless vs victimed.
If there is no victim, there is no crime.
To be fair, the police everywhere liken pretty much all of America to ISIS, certainly by their actions.
But if we refo RM criminal justice, white collar criminals will get away with their crimes. Is not having the largest prison population in the world an acceptable cost of making sure white collar crimins pay for their crimes?
“Not in my prison there isn’t”
Yeah, right.
“”There’s more dope in prison than outside of it,” Nolan quipped as the discussion came to an end. ”
Wow, this guy actually heads an entire section of the American Conservative Union devoted to criminal justice reform. I’m surprised they’re so good on this issue.
And the LEOs act as both clients and mules.
“Figures lie and liars figure,” said the sheriff.
When the bankrupt government can’t pay his pension, Clarke will happily produce figures saying how much he is entitled to.
“Cuccinelli took the moderate position”
That must be a type. What you surely *meant* to write was “Cuccinelli advocated throwing gays and minorities off the Tarpetian rock.”
typo.
See what I mean!
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