As I pointed out yesterday in my detailed thoughts on Ferguson, President Obama has once again proved his irrelevance and uselessness by failing to say anything meaningful on the disturbing events of the past week. In fact, he only decided to address it personally and publicly yesterday after being heavily criticized for issuing a press release about the party he attended in Martha’s Vineyard as civilians in Missouri clashed with a paramilitary police force.
Despite Obama’s complete apathy, there are some Congressmen forcefully speaking out against the trend from “both sides” of the increasingly meaningless Republican and Democrat divide. The most noteworthy thus far appears to be Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia’s 4th Congressional district. In fact, he has sent a Dear Colleague letter to fellow representatives of his intention to introduce the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act in September when Congress returns from recess.
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Considering that most mainstream media watching Americans had no idea how out of control the police militarization had become, perhaps Rep. Johnson’s bill has a fighting chance. If it is to pass, bi-partisan support is crucial and this is hopefully one of those issues libertarians and progressives can find common ground on. There is reason to be somewhat optimistic considering Rand Paul’s op-ed in Time yesterday titled: We Must Demilitarize the Police.
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However, passing such a bill will be no easy task. For example, in June Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) introduced an amendment to H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act, which would have prohibited funds from being used to transfer certain kinds of military surplus to local police departments. Sadly, the vote wasn’t even close. It failed 62-355, including a no vote from Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), whose district includes Ferguson.
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Establishment bipartisan criminality, as usual.
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Optimism for Rep. Johnson’s bill should come from the fact the issue has been thrust front and center due to recent events in Ferguson. That said, like anything else in American politics, actually passing legislation in the best interests of the American public is almost impossible due to the overwhelming influence of special interest money. Indeed, David Sirota noted earlier today that:
According to data compiled by Maplight, the lawmakers “voting to continue funding the 1033 Program have received, on average, 73 percent more money from the defense industry than representatives voting to defund it.” In all, the average lawmaker voting against the bill received more than $50,000 in campaign donations from the defense industry in the last two years. The report also found that of the 59 lawmakers who received more than $100,000 from defense contractors in the last two years, only four voted for Grayson’s legislation.
Given the reality of defense company spending, this battle will not be an easy one. This is why I ask you to spread this post around and contract your Senators and Representatives to make it clear this issue is very important to you and you will be watching how they vote.
