I don't think there's a whole lot to James Webb's much-touted legislation to form a blue-ribbon commission on prison reform. But I think there's a whole lot to the fact that James Webb is touting legislation on prison reform. I think it's important that Webb has created a whole new section on his Senate web site to cover the issue and I think it's encouraging that his staff is blasting out e-mails about Webb's focus on the issue. The political economy on crime and prison reform has been pretty bad: Lots of politicians make their name being anti-crime, which has come to mean pro-punishment. Few make their name being pro-prison reform. Here -- from the charts and graphs section of Webb's site -- is what that's given us:
Webb has decided to do something fairly rare for a politician; leverage his credibility to make a positive intervention on an issue. Plenty of politicians with Webb's unique blessings -- a tough record and a tough demeanor that assures him total inoculation against being painted as weak -- held them in reserve for a future campaign that never comes. Webb is actually attempting to use his position to affect an important issue. And by publicly signaling that he means to be the go-to guy on prison reform, he's ensuring that the advocacy community will begin providing intellectual support and the academics will begin talking to his staff and the former prisoners will send along their experiences and the interested senators will come by his office and his blue-ribbon panel will give him further ideas and his next piece of legislation will, after all that, be able to do rather more than call for a commission. His floor speech supporting the bill is below the fold. It's really quite good.
Webb has decided to do something fairly rare for a politician; leverage his credibility to make a positive intervention on an issue. Plenty of politicians with Webb's unique blessings -- a tough record and a tough demeanor that assures him total inoculation against being painted as weak -- held them in reserve for a future campaign that never comes. Webb is actually attempting to use his position to affect an important issue. And by publicly signaling that he means to be the go-to guy on prison reform, he's ensuring that the advocacy community will begin providing intellectual support and the academics will begin talking to his staff and the former prisoners will send along their experiences and the interested senators will come by his office and his blue-ribbon panel will give him further ideas and his next piece of legislation will, after all that, be able to do rather more than call for a commission. His floor speech supporting the bill is below the fold. It's really quite good. 
