Worse than just the 1994 crime bill: The Clintons and the damage of 90s crime politics
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The debate over the Clintons and the effect of the '94 bill is important -- but it can't end there.
The nineties are back. Over the past few months, FX has introduced a new generation of viewers to the O.J. Simpson trial (and reminded the rest of us of the lurid details we had forgotten). HBO has transported us to an era of Seinfeld and shoulder pads in order to re-enact Anita Hill’s testimony in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in Confirmation. And, as the likelihood of a second Clinton presidency increases, we find ourselves re-litigating the criminal justice debates that took place when the first Clinton was in office.
These debates are critically important to mending our broken criminal justice system, but too often they remain incomplete. Commentators have keyed on the ’94 crime bill (the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, to be exact), a sweeping piece of legislation that directed more money to law enforcement and amped up penalties for a range of offenses. In a much-publicized confrontation at a campaign stop, Bill Clinton sparred with protestors who criticized the ’94 bill. Clinton defended the Act, doubling down on ’90s-era rhetoric about violent crime and safe streets.
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