You may remember Tom Cotton, the junior Senator from Arkansas. He was responsible for the traitorous act of ignoring the President and protocol while writing a letter to Iran’s leaders threatening them regarding the nuclear agreement. The Republican Party has been obstructionists and in the control of extremists for seven years, but this was un-American and he should be removed from office.

He hasn’t stopped yet. It appears that he has derailed an effort by Democrats, and Republicans, who are not members of the TEA Party, to act upon ‘criminal justice reform.’

“It would be very dangerous and unwise to proceed with the Senate Judiciary bill, which would lead to the release of thousands of violent felons,” Cotton said.

The truth is that the bill the Senate voted for would reduce some minimum sentences, especially for those who were convicted in the ‘war on drugs.’

The GOP continues to have a problem with race. Approximately 60 percent of prison inmates are people of color. About 50 percent of the total population have been imprisoned for drug-related offenses. Only eight percent of all inmates are incarcerated for committing violent crimes.

Cotton is an extreme conservative, similar to Ted Cruz. He has been groomed by the owners of the TEA Party, and like Cruz, is focusing on 2020 or 2024 to seek residency in the White House. He learned from Cruz and Paul that keeping your name in the headlines for any reason increases the chances of winning the GOP nomination.

Mike Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah, helped write the bill and continues to support it.

The United States imprisons more individuals than any other nation. Although we have 4.4 percent of the world’s population, we incarcerate 22 percent of inmates worldwide. 724 people per each 100,000 are in the prison system in the United States. The number per 100,000 in Russia is 581, and in England approximately 145.

The statistics regarding police brutality are unforgiveable. They prove that a black person has a 2-1 chance of being shot and killed by a member of law enforcement than his white counterpart. Each year more than 6,000 police officers are cited for misconduct; the number of those prosecuted is zero.

The entire criminal justice system must be addressed.

Here’s a little fact to help you understand why some those in the TEA Party refuse to admit that change is needed. It is related to their owners; the wealthiest of Americans and their large corporations.

An increasing number of our prisons are under the control of the private sector; the two largest are GEO and Corrections Corporation of America. They spend about $25 million lobbying your congressmen. Their profit is $3.3 billion annually. Between 2000 and 2010 the prison population of the United States doubled in size and coincides with the time frame when private companies took possession of operations within many of our prisons.

The TEA Party exists because the American people are gullible. They believe their lies and deception. It matters not what they want to call themselves; the TEA Party or the Freedom Caucus; their purpose is the same; to transform our nation into a plutocracy.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source 

Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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