My former colleague, Chris Reed, who is now a columnist and blogger at the San Diego Union-Tribune, made the mistake of trying to engage Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Unions, on the issue of prison policy. Spitzer is a wholly owned subsidiary of the law-enforcement and prison-guards unions, someone who has built a career by unfairly maligning anyone who questions his big-government, tax-borrow-and-spend approach to prison policy as “pro-criminal.” If we’re pro-criminal, does that mean that Spitzer — who opposes public openness when it comes to misbehaving cops — is “pro-dirty-cop”?
Reed made this argument: “A rational approach to crime would depend on risk management concepts, not knee-jerk retribution. Except for pedophiles, con artists and some other minor categories, most criminals stop being criminals by the time they turn 40, and just about all do by age 50.”
Spitzer tried in response to depict Reed as someone who is soft on sexual predators. Typical stuff. Spitzer understands that in his frenzy to become the next DA, there’s no point showing any nuance or in any way taking the chance of offending his union allies. Spitzer epitomizes the new Police State Republicanism, where limited government and fiscal responsibility go out the window. One can never spend too much money pandering to the public’s fears for political gain. It’s all about law and order and appeasing the unions, not about protecting the public.
(On an aside, expect Spitzer to point out that he supported legislation to pay a wrongfully convicted man restitution — but Spitzer refuses to support modest bills that would make it tougher to convict the wrong person in the first place. The unions don’t mind this restitution bill, so it’s a freebie for Spitzer, who gets to pretend that he cares about justice, when there’s not much evidence that he does.)
I have said it before and will say it again-Todd Spitzer is a public union employee tree hugger.
He never met a public empolyee union scam he wouldn’t endorse.
He will never in a million years be the elected DA because he simply does not have the brain power. He is a circus chimp trained to jump/pander to special interests-public employee union special interests-but the special interest public employee union jig is up-and so is Spitzer’s time in office.
This clown in the real world could not win a small claims court case (as in not the public sector Todd old boy).
Sptizer is history, and if OC files BK again over his idiotic nonsense retroactive pension scams, then he should just pack his bags and head out to Arizona. Maybe he can pull some of his slight of hand scams there.
rlh, I think I agree with your main position/s.
The bottom line is our PS system is breaking down by pandering to the PD unions-and by pandering I mean the fiscal irresponsibility.
You cannot keep raising pay and pension benefits to the level of a mid size company CEO-and that is what these PD/FF GED jokers are pulling down.
The entire state and all of it’s subdivisions are close to BK because of this nonsense. It is a quid pro quo illegal scam in my book, and Spitzer is the ringmaster.