15 July 2008

The Federalization of Crime

Conservative and liberals agree that there are too many federal crimes.

2 comments:

Michael Malak said...

Liberals and conservatives may agree, but Republicans and Democrats do not agree with liberals and conservatives (although Republicans and Democrats agree with each other).

The link you provided says the same thing:

"This expansion has continued apace under both Republican and Democratic-controlled congresses."

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

Of course, you are right, for now. I am a voice in the wilderness trying to point the party towards a better direction for the future.

The Democratic party has had the notion of federal law as a force for good against regressive states burned into its historical memory from the civil rights era.

The reality has changed. The federal courts are going to be a bastion of old style Republican conservatism for the next generation, the federal criminal code has research a point where a complete overhaul is necessary to bring it to a level of reasonableness, and the courts in formerly regressive states like Georgia have taken a turn for the better.

Democrats need to dramatically reduce the scope and influence of the federal court system, where ever that makes sense, and instead should direct the might of the federal government in directions where it can be transformed more quickly.