Sen and GOP presidential hopeful Rand Paul, whom even prominent progressive voices have given credit for being ahead of many Democrats on so called civil right issues, is calling out former President Bill Clinton for putting “a generation of black men in prison,” which Clinton has basically acknowledged as true.
According to The Guardian, “Former president highlights US’s unparalleled rate of imprisonment and admits changes in policy during his two terms ‘overshot the mark.’ Clinton is said to have admitted that mass incarceration on his watch “put too many people in prison.”
Paul made the comments in asserting his belief that he could compete effectively against Hillary Clinton for urban and minority voters.
“If I were the nominee, we will compete in Philadelphia,” he told CBS radio talk show host Dom Giordano at the National Constitution Center.
“I’ll ask Hillary Clinton, what have you done for criminal justice? Your husband passed all the laws that put a generation of black men in prison. Her husband was responsible for that,” he said.
“She’s changing her tune now. She’s changing her tune because people like me have been speaking out against these injustices,” he said.
As president, Clinton signed the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which gave states fiscal incentives to enact tougher sentencing laws.