Former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo famously said “A conservative is a liberal who got mugged the night before.” This isn't to suggest that a certain Minnesota Democrat Congresswoman is about to go all MAGA, but she certainly is echoing a lot of concerns conveyed by right-of-center politicos.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) called out the Washington, D.C., government for its handling of the alleged assailant who attacked her inside the elevator of her Capitol Hill apartment building.
In a “CBS Mornings” interview that aired Tuesday, the Minnesota congresswoman recounted the moments that led to her assault. She also claimed that the suspect, identified as Kendrick Khalil Hamlin, has 12 arrests and convictions, all prior to her incident, on his record.
According to court documents, Hamlin, 27, was convicted in December on charges stemming from assaulting a police officer and committing lewd, indecent or obscene acts.
“I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning,” Craig told CBS. “And so I think we have to think about how in the world can we make sure that we’re not just letting criminals out.”
“I mean, it wasn’t even in every instance that he got 10 days or 30 days. Many times, the charges were completely dropped before any justice was achieved at all,” she added.
There's a temptation to engage in the obligatory "WE TOLD YOU SO" given that Craig's "eyes wide open" moment was a drumbeat of the right for the past few years, particularly in the 2022 election cycle. However, I'm a big proponent of allowing people some grace as their worldview evolves. A lot of us are in a proverbial bubble to some extent, thus we may have blind spots over certain issues. For instance, I was one of the biggest "war hawks" around during the George W. Bush administration and basically threatened to cut off all contact from anyone who dared disrespect the U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as time has gone on, I've learned how futile the combat strategies actually were. As much as I admire Mr. Bush personally, I can no longer in good conscience defend our country's involvement in those conflicts.
All that said, what's particularly galling about Craig's sentiments is that when a firearm is added to the equation, the concerns over repeat offenses or questionable plea deals seem to take a backseat to the inanimate object. Take for instance the mass shooting at Michigan St. University this past week. The shooter killed multiple people with a handgun he wouldn't have been allowed to possess had there not been a plea deal to have a felony possession charge dismissed. Yet instead of focusing on why the wrong people are getting their hands on firearms, progs inevitably look to make it cumbersome or downright impossible for law abiding citizens to own guns as opposed to focusing on how felons are able to obtain them.
Oh well, baby steps.
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