One of the most contentious issues in the Democratic primary is Hillary Clinton’s advocating for the now-controversial 1994 crime bill passed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
The New York Times wants her to own it, though it’s unpopular among Democratic voters, especially black ones.
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“That legacy and experience lies at the heart of Mrs. Clinton’s approach as ‘a progressive who gets things done,’ ” the Times, which has endorsed Clinton, said Tuesday night. “And the 1994 crime bill, which has emerged as a hot-button issue in the current campaign, is a good example in both its substance and the style of the Clinton manner of policy making.”
In light of national focus on police conduct toward minorities, critics of the bill say that it unfairly targeted minority communities and led to mass incarceration of blacks.
The bill was passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed by Bill Clinton. Crime decreased nationally in the years after.
The former president has, in some ways, distanced himself from the law, saying last year that it cast “too wide a net.”
In the Tuesday editorial, the Times defended the bill.
“The multipart legislation created programs to keep small-time drug offenders out of prison, financed drug treatment programs and put more cops on the streets in troubled communities,” the Times said. “It also included a ban on certain types of assault weapons long sought by gun-control advocates, which has since expired. It played a part in reducing crime rates, but it also contributed to a rise in the prison population — of both violent criminals and low-level offenders — though it wasn’t solely responsible for the phenomenon known as mass incarceration.”
The Times continued, “On the crime bill, as on the Iraq war, trade deals and gay marriage, some young critics view Mrs. Clinton’s changes in position as politically convenient or unprincipled. The way to reach those voters is to acknowledge their objections and better explain what it takes to move an agenda through a hostile Congress.”
