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Last week, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Protect Act of 2022. You can read the text of the bill here, but the Reader’s Digest version is that it would create minimum mandatory sentencing for offenses for child pornography and keep judges from imposing lighter sentences.
The bill faced stiff opposition from Democrats in the Senate, including Dick Durbin, who denied Hawley unanimous consent. Durbin asked: “Why now? I know why. He said as much. This senator has suggested over the course of the last two weeks and hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee that somehow this judge… aspiring to the Supreme Court is out of the mainstream when it comes to sentencing in child pornography cases.”
Well, Dick, why not now? Please explain to me why this is a bad bill. I know your side has dumped millions into getting your nominee confirmed. I know you dream of using the Supreme Court as a juggernaut to ensure that every one of your fevered dreams is enshrined as law no matter the vox populi. After all, you were in favor of a similar bill back in 2003. Remember that?
To his credit, Hawley did not back down, stating: “The Senator from Illinois says Congress hasn’t acted in 2 decades. That’s true. I haven’t been here for 2 decades. He has, the Senator doesn’t want tougher sentences, he doesn’t want to talk about this issue, he wants to sweep it under the rug. I’m here to say I won’t let that happen.”
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I get it, progressives. Or whatever you’re calling yourselves now. I used to be one of you. For decades you’ve been fed a steady diet of messages about how awful conservatives are. You’ve been told again and again and again that conservatives hate women, gays, Muslims, puppies, bunnies, and Gaia. And you are so terrified that if you agree with conservatives on anything you will magically grow a MAGA hat and morph into Phil Robertson. You won’t, but I don’t have time to talk you out of the tree about that. You can still listen to NPR; you can keep your turtlenecks and your “In This House, We Believe…” signs. You can still gaze haughtily at people with Trump stickers on their cars and trucks and sip Chardonnay. No one’s asking you to switch sides. But for the love of God, at least police yourselves. Child protection should be the one place where we can find common ground. This is the ultimate example of a non-partisan issue. If you are willing to let your leaders play games with child safety so you can continue to dominate the cool kids’ table, then the rift between us is indeed too big to repair.
And if you’re reading this with a typical leftist derisive snort, it might be an excellent time for a little self-reflection and to ask yourself just what in the hell you are turning into. Even more so if you are scrambling for a rationale or excuse.
I’ve warned you before and I’ll warn you again. You will not be invited to the after-party in Aspen. You aren’t rich enough or powerful enough to hang with your self-described betters. And if you are willing to get in line with this, you have bigger problems than the 2022 elections.
Source: This post first appeared on PJ Media
