Arnold Plays the Fear Card

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

At a CCPOA rally, Arnold requested that crime victims demand that their legislators pass his $10+ Billion prisons package.  Unfortunately, he went for the ol' tried and true GOP theme: FEAR.

"If we don't have a prison reform plan by next month, the federal courts will take over, put a cap on our prison population and order the early release of inmates," Schwarzenegger said. "And those criminals will be roaming around on your streets and in your neighborhoods, and your neighborhoods and streets will not be safe." (SacBee 4/24/07)

All of this comes in the context of Arnold's plan to ramp up the incarceration in California.  Hey, Governor, do you think you could ramp up state mental health programs, so that we could avoid some of the crimes? Or improve dropout rates and the economy so we can prevent these crimes? Or facilitate better communication between police and the communities they serve so that we can catch criminals that are actually committing crimes?

  It's not that prisons aren't overcrowded, they are. It's just that Arnold's solution, endless prison construction, only just leads to a feedback loop of more crime. Let's work on getting solutions on the table, not just stop-gaps.