With crime rising in America and police increasingly under siege, many Senate Republicans have decided it’s a good time to liberalize federal sentencing policies—and to do so “quickly.” One has to wonder at Republicans’ timing. At what would appear to be a Richard Nixon or Rudy Giuliani moment, Republicans are partnering with Barack Obama to respond like George McGovern.

What’s more, the Senate Judiciary Committee has now announced that it is taking the unusual step of holding a hearing on the bill on Monday October 19, when many stragglers, just back (or not yet back) from their recess of Columbus Day week, likely won’t attend.  According to that committee’s own calendar, the last time it held a hearing on a Monday was nearly two-and-a-half years ago, when it was eager to ram through another ill-conceived bipartisan effort—the “Gang of Eight” open-borders immigration bill.