Seeing President Biden utilize the president’s pardon power under Article II to see that justice is done was like a breath of fresh air, taking the pardon power back to where it should be and away from the “pardon celebrities and the power players who lied and covered up for me” as it was under Trump.
As the Brennan Center describes it:
When it comes to reducing our prison populations, we’ve argued that this power should be used more frequently as a vital mechanism of mercy, tempering the often harsh, racist, and inequitable effects of our criminal legal system.
Yes. Well said. And even some Republicans came forward yesterday to praise Biden on the pardons he signed. Some. This is where one sees the split in the GOP between “MAGAs loyal to Trump” (Kellyanne Conway, below) and the “GOP Proper.” To the extent the GOP is a “thing” unto itself, it is carried on by representatives like Nancy Mace, who has turned away from Trump on certain issues.
From The Hill:
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) on Thursday applauded President Biden’s decision to pardon all individuals convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law, giving the White House “credit where credit is due.”
“I want to give credit where credit is due. I don’t always agree with the Biden administration, I’ve been very vocal about that, but this is a step in the right direction,” Mace told Fox Business Network’s “Kennedy” when asked for her thoughts on the move.
On Thursday, the South Carolina Republican plugged her own legislation, the States Reform Act, which would also remove cannabis from Schedule I. The measure has not received a vote in the House.
Meanwhile, back at MAGA Ranch, Kellyanne Conway wants a word. She says the pardons are an “election ploy.” To which one might say, “So? You are elected to do things and it is totally appropriate to show people what you stand for, prior to an election.” Kellyanne Conway said, “Whether it is student loan forgiveness or pardoning marijuana possession convictions, a bereft Biden tries hard to change the subject and get people who dislike him to dislike him a little bit less.”
The nerve! Doing things that make people “dislike you a little less”? Impossible! Oh, and that doesn’t sound “bereft,” otherwise, Kellyanne wouldn’t be so upset.
“Even if this makes sense legally or practically to Biden, he runs the risk as being seen again as ignoring the broader and deeper concerns surrounding violent crime surges and an inescapably devastating economic picture.”
As President Josiah Bartlett might say, “These are the deeper things, Kellyanne.” Biden also sent billions to local law enforcement and – against all Republican attempts to stymie it – has put together an economic package that will help in time.
Never mind. It is far easier to persuade a ham than it is a true MAGA:
BLOWING SMOKE: Kellyanne Conway and Mark Penn on Biden’s weed pardon being ‘timed for the election’ https://t.co/UfkshzFjyb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 7, 2022
And the Mace video:
“I want to give credit where credit is due” — Nancy Mace on Fox Business on Biden’s moves to decriminalize marijuana pic.twitter.com/efeHUWbV4C
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 6, 2022
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.