Posted on 12/10/2018 9:55:34 AM PST by Kaslin
Leader McConnell,
Since your office has neglected to make an appointment for us to meet on the matter, I’m compelled to use this open letter to explain why your apparent attempt to sabotage the FIRST STEP Act is so misguided.
It’s become clear that you are using your powers as Senate Majority Leader to slow-roll one of the President’s top legislative priorities: the FIRST STEP Act. This bipartisan legislation has already passed the House with a resounding vote of 360-59. Your refusal to bring the bill forward for a vote in the Senate is all that stands in the way of its passage.
As its name implies, this legislation is the first step toward correcting the injustices under which hundreds of thousands of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have suffered since Bill Clinton signedhis disastrous criminal justice reform into law in 1994.
Contrary to the knee-jerk reactions of some conservatives, this is not a “soft-on-crime” bill like others that we’ve seen in the past. FIRST STEP is not about simply reducing sentences, and it certainly isn’t about releasing violent criminals into the streets. FIRST STEP is about reducing crime by addressing the rampant criminal recidivism that plagues our urban communities, plain and simple. It keeps offenders closer to their family and faith-based support networks, and provides them with educational and vocational opportunities.
For sound economic and cultural reasons, our country has always favored offering most nonviolent offenders a second chance in life. The proven solutions contained in the FIRST STEP Act increase the likelihood that former prisoners will use that second chance to become productive citizens, not career criminals.
If a tiny cabal of Republican Senators torpedoes this popular bill, it will be a slap in the face to President Trump’s minority supporters, who already endure constant abuse from the left for our political and policy convictions.
The forgotten communities of America are united behind this bill. As CEO of the National Diversity Coalition (NDC) for Trump and CEO of the Urban Revitalization Coalition (URC), I have been deeply involved in the America First movement from the very beginning. Our members are committed to the success of this administration, and are in close contact with the President on the priorities of blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups in the Trump coalition.
We have struggled and persevered to get this bill as far as it’s come, just as we did to elect Donald Trump as President. To ignore our efforts now suggests you view the entire NDC and URC as nothing but a mere photo op. Given President Trump’s steadfast support for our priorities and concerns, the failure to advance this legislation would be an affront to his authority and leadership. No one in the Democrat Senate leadership would have treated President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda with such little respect.
If this bill fails, the media will pin the blame not on the Democrats — who failed to deliver on their own promises of criminal justice reform for years — but on the Republicans in the Senate. You and the other opponents of the FIRST STEP Act will have written the script for future Democrat candidates across the country, lending undue credence to their tired and irresponsible accusations of Republicans’ contempt for the concerns of minorities.
Leader McConnell, I will deliver to you today in this letter what I would have said to you in person had you agreed to meet with me: “Get off your butt and get this doggone bill passed.”
Sincerely,
Pastor Darrell Scott
Hey dirtbag pastor Scott, why don’t you spend more time helping crime victims rather than lobby for reduced sentences, early prison release, more crime and coddling criminals. Save your hypocrisy for people that care.
Maybe you should lose your tax exempt status and pay taxes like all the rest of us do since you like to politic.
Heard POTUS is coming to Baltimore Wednesday at the request of a local pastor.
Praying the Secret Service takes extra precautions to ensure PDJT’s safety.
Understand a roundtable discussion is planned.
Great to have my president in my metro area.
However, you couldn’t even pay me to visit the former “Charm City” these days.
The crime bill in 1994 looks like it’s tougher on criminals. There seems to be some experts to say it has a negligible effect on the crime rate. However, it may be that this bill has kept the crime rate from getting worse. I see these kids and adults these days as being almost absent of empathy towards other human beings. This bill may have been like a dam against increasing criminality.
“Get off your butt and get this doggone bill passed.”
Where is the kind of urgency for the Wall Mitch?
Just another sob sister racial identity lobbying attempt to keep African Americans from doing time for their crime. No self interest there is there Pastor Scott?
I have been a lifelong Republican, from a long line of republicans, the first Republican in my family was one of the founders of the Republican party and a friend of Abraham Lincoln. I am saying this because Real Republicans do care about the humane treatment of prisoners, just as classic Republicans oppose slavery, bigamy, and treating women as chattel and denying women the right to vote. Real Republicans are opposed to govt charity because we believe in personal charity, not a lack of charity. You should be aware that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world and one of the most corrupt criminal justice systems in the world. We have prisons for profit, we have the 3 strikes law which means a young person who commits 3 minor crimes spends the rest of his life in prison, and not only that but a prosecutor can easily figure out how to charge a young offender who has committed a petty crime with 3 crimes. We have a prison industry, prisons for profit where there is a major incentive for corruption. We also have this wicked plea bargain system where many innocent men and women, particularly in the area of “recovered memory” type crimes, choose to take a plea bargain rather than face the might of the state with only an overworked public defender to defend them, and so off to prison they go, likely a for-profit prison. Granted there are some pretty bad criminals out there, and they know how to work the system, I will give you that. But you ought to care about this, you are paying for it, and if the teenager next door gets in trouble with the law, she might accuse YOU of having done something, and off to prison you will go. So start caring about this, start caring about how corrupt this system is, be glad that Donald Trump, A True Justice Warrier, has taken a look at this and sees the evil that it is. This prison reform bill is his idea, he is the power behind this.
I can’t with authority speak on this bill the post turtle is sitting on, but I do know our criminal justice system is broken, corrupt and in many cases very unfair...
If Trump is for it, it must have some merit...
No, Mitch. Keep doing what you’re doing on this issue. It’s absurd to reduce the sentences for violent criminals. That will produce a wave of Willie Hortons and increase the violent crime rate.
That is the reason the murder and violent crime rate has dropped over the past 25 years -- we're keeping violent criminals in prison longer and, in some cases, forever.
Only someone truly stupid would oppose three strike laws. How many more chances doe we need to give violent criminals to harm their fellow citizens?
It's a way for Trump to win over the black vote. That's fine. That doesn't mean it has to pass through Congress.
Did you read the reply of the reader Molly Pitcher whose 16 year old son which was physically and mentally like a 12 year old was murdered by a perp.
IMO, the Pastor shouldn’t have used phrases like “cabal of Republicans”, or named the ethnicity of some criminals. Those just sew more division. The argument should stand on its merits for all people.
This is a letter to McConnell - not from him.
First of all you are totally misinformed or just plain out lying about Three Strikes. It requires two violent felonies and a new violent felony. Violent felonies are not “minor crimes”, but then you know that. You just think you have to lie to prove your left wing argument.
Your do gooder ideology is commendable, if honest, but misplaced. You should be shedding tears for the victims of crime, not the criminals. Your empathy is completely misplaced.
As for your statement that we have the most corrupt criminal justice system ever you simply are ignorant of the facts. I was a prosecutor for 35 years and not once did I come across a prosecution that was nothing but totally legit. Thank goodness there are attorneys who desire to serve the public good rather than get rich by serving as deputy district attorneys across America, even though there are biased, ignorant fools like you that believe their work is anything but honest and necessary to assuring that justice is done and will slander them at the slightest in order to push their Soft on Crime Agenda.
As usual trump has been poorly advised about this soft on crime bill, probably by his two liberal democrat relatives ivanka and Jared. Why do you think all the Democrats as well as the gop establishment rinos support this bill? Duh! You aren’t in really good political company.
This pastor Scott is just another liberal democrat black trying to push the liberal black agenda of reducing crime penalties for his constituents. Period.
I was forgiven and I followed my Savior because I HAD a new start.
There's not a Christian on the planet that doesn't understand being forgiven and set free to do as he pleases ..... it's just that now what pleases me is what Jesus wants.
Maybe we're NOT a Christian nation after all
No one is against new starts. There is a big difference between allowing new starts aNd redemption and reducing sentences, increasing prison credits to get out early and otherwise reducing penalties.
Time and again liberalizing crime initiatives fail and just increase crime and the number of crime victims. God save us from the do gooders.
Pastor Scott is a Patriot and strong voice for President Trump.Your condescending attitude towards him is wrong.
You mean minorities? The jerks that just voted heavily democrat as usual?
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