JOHN CORNYN LEADS GOP CONGRESS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM (2nd CHANCES)

JOHN CORNYN LEADS GOP CONGRESS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM:


GOP TAKES ACTION TO GRANT EX-OFFENDERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2ND CHANCE.


**** Senator John Cornyn Aims To Sway Fellow Republicans On Criminal Justice

Senator John Cornyn, a former Texas judge and attorney general, is a devoted believer in the criminal justice overhaulawaiting its moment in the Senate. Now, he just has to convert doubting Republican colleagues.

Mr. Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican and a main author of the criminal justice legislation, which would cut some sentences and ease re-entry after prison, is working to address fears from fellow Republicans that passage of the bill could set loose some dangerous offenders and diminish the party’s law-and-order image.

Acknowledging the deep skepticism, Mr. Cornyn said in an interview that his job was to educate Republicans who were only beginning to focus on the legislation and to make clear that it would not throw open the gates of federal prisons.

“Nobody is getting out of jail free, which is some of the characterization that is out there,” said Mr. Cornyn, who describes himself “as conservative as they come.”

For months, momentum has been building for a comprehensive criminal justice package aimed at easing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. The effort has been driven by an unusual right-left alliance that includes the conservatives Charles G. and David H. Koch and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved its plan on a strong bipartisan vote in October, and companion legislation is moving in the House. But Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has not committed to bringing the legislation to the floor. Mr. McConnell has been cautious on the issue, and other Republicans have expressed increasingly vocal opposition, with the latest resistance coming from Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas.

Mr. Cornyn’s primary role in writing the legislation, combined with his spot near the top of the Republican leadership ladder, has made him a critical player in determining whether the legislation advances this year.

“He is the reason it is happening, in my opinion,” said Mark Holden, the general counsel for Koch Industries and the company’s point man on criminal justice issues. “He is the driving force.”

But it is unclear how far that drive will go. In a development first reported by Politico, opposition to the legislation boiled up at a closed party lunch last week, with Mr. Cotton taking a strong position against the bill. Mr. McConnell, one attendee said, reminded senators of the case of Willie Horton, the Massachusetts felon who committed violent crimes while on furlough and became an issue in the 1988 presidential race.

“I don’t believe we should allow thousands of violent felons to be released early from prison, nor do I believe we should reduce sentences for violent offenders in the future,” Mr. Cotton said in an interview. He said that the criminal justice legislation was being driven by a “myth” of mass incarceration of low-level, nonviolent offenders in federal prisons, and that most prisoners had already cut their sentences under plea bargains.

Some senators said Mr. Cornyn and other Republican backers of the legislation may have misread the willingness of their colleagues to embrace the criminal justice movement and had too much faith that others would be swayed by the support of conservatives such as Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Mike Lee of Utah.

“John has some work to do, big-time work,” to secure enough support to persuade Mr. McConnell to go forward, said one Republican senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters.

Mr. Cornyn, who became enthusiastic about the issue after successful changes to the criminal justice system in Texas, where he was a judge for 13 years, said discussions had begun on the staff and senator-to-senator levels to clear up misconceptions. 

He noted that sentencing provisions in the measure would apply to about 5,000 offenders — far fewer than in earlier sentencing proposals — and that those now serving time would have to reappear before the same judge and prosecutor to win a reduction in time served.

“Some people are now realizing for the first time that they may have to vote on this thing, so they need more information,” said Mr. Cornyn, who added that he would be asking colleagues what changes might be needed to win their backing.

He said that Mr. McConnell would like to lessen the party divisions before deciding to devote weeks of scarce Senate floor time to the criminal justice proposition.

“This is all part of his calculation, and we are trying to work with him and all my colleagues and figure a way to get this done,” Mr. Cornyn said. “It is not the kiss of death if you don’t do this in 2016, but I would like to. I think we have a window here.”

Another part of the calculation is the 2016 battle for the Senate and the vulnerability of some Republican incumbents in swing states.

Some analysts have suggested that it could help Republicans by broadening their appeal to independents, Democrats and minorities who believe that the criminal justice system is unfairly tilted.

Mr. Cornyn said he agreed. “It doesn’t hurt to show that you actually care,” he said. “This is a statement that is not just symbolic, but actually shows that you care about people. It doesn’t hurt to show some empathy.”

Sources:  NY Times,  Politico,  Youtube

Hoyer Warns GOP: Tone Down Rhetoric, Senate Fight Looms

GOP Gears Up For Senate Theatrics




So much for the “Nuclear” Senate showdown.

After President Barack Obama’s showy Tuesday signing ceremony, the Senate’s cleanup work this week on health care is looking more like a political strategy session, as each party tries to cement public impressions of the bill.

“It’s going to pass here,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said matter-of-factly. “It’s a matter of what amendments [Democrats] want to be for and what they’re not.”

To be sure, Republicans have lined up a bundle of politically embarrassing amendments and plan to wreak all sorts of procedural havoc.

“I think there’s going to be long nights, and there’s going to be anger and demagoguery from the Republicans,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “But I think the outcome is pretty clear.”

So at this point, Republicans are simply going to continue with their key themes: that the new law will drastically cut Medicare, increase taxes and expand the government’s ballooning budget deficit.

And as Democrats try to downplay the bill as mere “fixes” to the law and vow to kill all GOP amendments, Republicans are inflating the measure’s importance by arguing it would make even more draconian changes to the newly enacted law.

Republicans are challenging several provisions with the Senate’s parliamentarian, Alan Frumin, on the grounds that they violate the so-called Byrd rule — named after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) — which prohibits the addition of extraneous items to budget legislation. Republicans are also pushing uncomfortable amendments, including one by Coburn that prohibits sex offenders from being prescribed drugs for erectile dysfunction.

And Republicans are planning unusual procedural tricks to ensure their objections are heard; the GOP on Tuesday forced committee work in the Senate to essentially come to a halt.

But even if the GOP is successful in delaying action in the Senate and forcing changes to the bill, House Democratic leaders may bring the chamber back to session during the upcoming spring recess to pass the reconciliation bill one last time.

And that fact is not lost on some.

“Obviously, the damage has been done,” said New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, who is leading the fight over the reconciliation bill. “But we have not had an opportunity to address some of the substantive policy questions which are out there that should be discussed in an amendment-type atmosphere.”

Since they began the health care debate last year, Democrats had kept the reconciliation process — a filibuster-proof way to make changes in tax laws and entitlement programs — firmly on the table. Nearly every time the strategy came to the fore, Republicans likened the idea to the “nuclear option” that nearly shut down the Senate in 2005, when the GOP tried to end filibusters for George W. Bush’s judicial nominees.

Gregg said the nuclear option was being referred to in the context of moving the whole health care bill through reconciliation — rather than the smaller set of items now being considered.

“This bill was used to buy votes; it’s a much smaller bill,” Gregg said.

In fact, it was House Democrats who pushed for the reconciliation bill to clean up some of the more politically problematic provisions in the Senate bill, including closing the doughnut hole on Medicare prescription drug coverage, delaying an excise tax on high-end insurance plans and killing the so-called Cornhusker Kickback. The Senate bill also includes a sweeping rewrite of student loan laws that most Republicans strongly oppose.

Democrats, feeling confident, are making fun of Senate Republicans for actually holding up the bill that removes some of the most controversial items.

“I don’t understand what they’re doing, because they’re all going to be for supporting the Nebraska cornhusker provision and will be voting against all the things this bill cleans up,” Brown said.

There is one potential area that could blow up the debate. If Vice President Joe Biden uses his authority to overrule a decision by parliamentarian Frumin, it could cause chaos in the chamber because that is so rarely done.

“They would be very loath to do that because it would clearly be a political act,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “And the Democrats have already said they’re going to abide by the parliamentarian, which means they must have some confidence that whatever they said is going to work out their way.”

Democrats downplay the likelihood of such a scenario, and Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), declined to comment on the possibility.

Republicans aren’t sparing Frumin, who is supposed to be an impartial referee on Senate procedure.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to say Tuesday whether he believes the parliamentarian has been a fair arbiter of the Senate rules.

“We’ll have views about that, I suppose, as we move along,” McConnell said Tuesday. “We’ll see what the parliamentarian rules and whether he becomes a player in this exercise or truly a referee, an umpire.”

The theatrics may go beyond rhetoric as well. Republicans could go to lengths to keep the Senate in session by trying to extend the freewheeling amendment process indefinitely — even though Democrats said they may push Frumin to rule such a tactic dilatory and prevent them from doing that.

“Realistically, I think the answer to that question is how long can senators stay awake continuously,” said Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). “We may see.”

But most Senate insiders don’t think the GOP will go to such lengths, as the real battle is now on the campaign trail.

“I’m not sure the public really differentiates between the [comprehensive] bill and the reconciliation bill,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “It’s all part of the machinations; it’s part of the process here.”


Sources: AP, Politico

Key GOP Leaders Accuse Dems Of Double Standards On Race Too

Republicans Charge Lott-Reid Double Standard


Top Republicans called for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to step aside Sunday — and accused the Democrats and the media of holding the GOP to a double standard on matters of race.

In an interview with POLITICO, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) said it would be "entirely appropriate" for the Nevada Democrat to relinquish his leadership post over comments about Barack Obama's skin color and lack of a "Negro dialect."

And like Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and Senate GOP Whip Jon Kyl — both of whom also called for Reid's resignation Sunday — Cornyn suggested that any Republican who said what Reid said would be under attack from Democrats, leading African-Americans and the media.

“There’s a big double standard here,” Steele said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“What’s interesting here, is when Democrats get caught saying racist things, an apology is enough. If that had been [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying that about an African-American candidate for president of the president of the United States, trust me, this chairman and the [Democratic National Committee] would be screaming for his head, very much as they were with Trent Lott.”

Lott lost his leadership post in 2002 after saying that the country would have been better off if Sen. Strom Thurmond — a Segregationist — had been elected president in 1948.

The comments — or at least the interpretations of them — were obviously different: While Lott words could be interpreted as a call for the continuation of racial segregation, Reid's were not an argument for race-based policies but rather a characterization of racial attitudes among voters today.

Still, Steele said: “There has to be a consequence here if the standard is the one set in 2002 with Trent Lott.”

Kyl (Ariz.), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, echoed Steele’s complaints about a “double standard” for Democrats.

“I agree with Michael Steele's comments that there is a double standard,” Kyl said on Fox News Sunday.”

“If [Lott] should resign, then Harry Reid should. If they apologize and you know what is in their heart, my feeling is they shouldn't. But in this case, [Reid] should.”

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign relinquished his leadership post last year after admitting that he had an affair with a staffer, but neither Kyl nor Cornyn has called on him to give up his Senate seat.

In the day since Reid's comments were first reported, the majority leader has reached out to black leaders for support — and gotten it.

Reid called Obama on Saturday to apologize to the president directly for his statement, made during an interview for the new book, “Game Change.”

The book quotes Reid, who backed Obama’s candidacy, as saying that Obama is "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

"Harry Reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today,” Obama said in a statement released on Saturday. “I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart. As far as I am concerned, the book is closed."

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, came out in support of Reid, as did Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, the top black politician in Reid’s home state.

Al Sharpton, the vocal civil rights leader who has inserted himself in the middle of many of the biggest racial fights over the past 25 years, said that while Reid “did not select the best word choice in this instance,” the Nevada Democrat should not be forced to step aide.

And D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat and an African-American, is warning Republicans against trying to make hay out of Reid’s comments.

The nonvoting member of Congress said Reid's opponents “will not find a welcome mat in the black community” if they try to seize on the Nevada Democrat’s remarks.

Reid has also reached out to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and other influential African-Americans, including Donna Brazile, Julian Bond and Wade Henderson.

With top African Americans supporting Reid or saying nothing, he has been able to avoid — up until this point — having the furor become a full-fledged media firestorm.

“The difference between Lott and Reid is that Democratic members of Congress are not calling on Reid to step down, especially CBC members,” said a GOP insider involved in the Lott scandal. “That’s what drives the media. Is he safe or not safe? But if members are not calling on [Reid] to step down, that won’t drive the media.”

Reid’s office quietly circulated talking points over the weekend on the majority leader’s record on racial issues and social justice.

Reid’s aides said the majority leader “has always been a friend to Nevada's African-American community, and as Nevada families struggle in these difficult times, his leadership is needed now more than ever.” They highlighted Reid’s support for the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, health care reform, expanded college loans and HIV/AIDS funding, all of which were key issues to minority groups, as well as his high career ratings from the NAACP.

In addition, Reid backers pointed out that Reid has run an internship program for the past five years with Howard University, a leading black college in Washington, D.C., designed to provide more diversity in Senate staffing.

Lott came under fire in December 2002 after saying, at a birthday celebration for Thurmond that his home state of Mississippi had supported him in1948 and was "proud of it."

"And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either," Lott said.

Unlike Reid, Lott initially refused to apologize for his comments, which were seized on by the blogosphere and by Democratic critics, including the then-chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe.

While Obama quickly put out a statement backing Reid, the top African-Americans in the Bush administration, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, did not publicly back Lott, despite private pleas from the Mississippi Republican for help. Then Education Secretary Roderick Paige, an African-American, also refused to support Lott.

Although Lott went on Black Entertainment Television to try to quell the furor, his appearance was unsuccessful in stanching the outrage. President George W. Bush and other top White House officials, as well as his Senate GOP rivals, including former Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, seeing an opportunity to bring Lott down, did not publicly back him either, and Lott ultimately resigned his leadership post. Frist then took over as majority leader.

Lott was reelected to the top ranks of Senate Republicans four years later, before he resigned in 2007 to become a lobbyist.



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Sources: Politico, Google Maps

Franken vs Lieberman: Dems Controlling Health Care Debate

Al Franken objects to Joe Lieberman talking


Sen. Joe Lieberman just wanted an "additional moment" on the floor Thursday to finish his speech about health care.

But when he asked for unanimous consent to finish his remarks, Democratic Sen. Al Franken wouldn't let him.

"In my capacity as the senator from Minnesota, I object," said Franken, who shrugged his shoulders as he was presiding over the Senate.

"Really?" Lieberman asked, flashing a grin. "Don't take it personally," as he was granted consent to include the rest of his remarks in the congressional record.

Franken didn't take it personally, leadership aides and his office said. Both said that the leadership is strictly enforcing a 10-minute speaking rule, an unusual move that is irking long-winded senators.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the objection was not directed at Lieberman, who is the source of liberal ire for his position on the health care bill.

"We did that to maintain order and that no senator had an unfair advantage over another in terms of speaking," Manley said. "It was a simple request of the leader and Sen. Franken was adhering to the request of his leadership."

Earlier on the floor, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), presiding over the Senate, objected to Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) request for additional time to speak — clearly annoying Cornyn.

Begich later withdrew his objection and allowed Cornyn to finish speaking.


Sources: Politico