Lying To Make Friends

One thing that’s long frustrated me about politics is how opportunistic partisans on both sides tend to be in the positions they take, latching on to arguments that may win a news cycle or a short-term victory but undermine longer-term arguments and priorities.  While this practice can be infuriating when engaged in by Republicans, I find it particularly troubling when engaged in by people with whom I generally agree.

For 20 years liberals have (rightly) decried the way in which George H.W. Bush invoked Michael Dukakis’ pardon of Willie Horton in the 1988 presidential race.  Just weeks ago, when the Supreme Court took up the issue, many liberals (rightly) railed against the practice of sentencing juveniles to life without possibility of parole.  Yet now that Mike Huckabee is under fire for granting clemency to a man who was sentenced to 100 years in prison for crimes he committed as a juvenile, we see liberals piling on and cheering the downfall of a Republican politician.

Thankfully, most of the commentary on the Clemmons pardon that I’ve seen from progressive blogs has been rather muted and focused on Huckabee’s idiosyncratic reasons for granting pardons and clemency.  While I agree strongly with Ta-Nehisi Coates that Huckabee’s generally forgiving approach towards clemency is something to be applauded rather than condemned, individual decisions should be scrutinized, particularly if they were indeed based more on the influence of Baptist preachers than the facts of the case.  I raise the issue mainly because I shudder to think what the gleeful response would be in progressive circles if a similar story came out about Sarah Palin, or if Mike Huckabee were considered to be a more serious contender for president.  While the aftermath of the murder of four police officers isn’t the most opportune time to be calling for a more forgiving, rehabilitative approach to crime and punishment, liberals should not lose sight of this goal in the context of this story simply because of the opportunity to embarrass a conservative Republican.

-AR