Kai Degner is critiquing recent comments from Sixth District Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte slamming President Obama for commutations of scores of people convicted for gun and drug crimes.
Degner, the Democratic nominee in the Sixth, says in a video posted to Facebook on Friday that Goodlatte is missing the main point: bad laws such as abusive minimum sentences enable government oppression and must be changed.
Noting Goodlatte’s acknowledgement that President Obama has the constitutional authority to issue commutations, Degner responded to the congressman’s critique that “too many” Americans’ sentences were commuted.
After reminding viewers that the United States has more people in prison than Russia and China combined, Degner asks of Goodlatte, “How many Americans suffering cruel and unusual punishment would he prefer be left in prison for taxpayers to house, feed, and care for? Fifty, 100, or 200? How many people’s liberty would he let continue to be infringed upon while taxpayers fund a for-profit prison industry?”
Degner goes on to refer to Goodlatte’s chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee, which puts him in position to change these oppressive laws. Degner says, “Instead of working for us, he’s repeating party establishment talking points that enforce a broken criminal justice system.”
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