William Bennett, America’s scold, still sells books and speaks

publicly after his gambling addiction was revealed. Lush, er, Rush Limbaugh bounced back quite quickly from his addiction to

prescription drugs — and his violation of federal law. Greg Payne has returned from alcoholism (and ‘assault’ with a can). What

makes these three models of redemption? Oh, yeah, they’re conservative. Is it too late for former Judge Brennan to join the

Republican Party?

The truth is, until conservatives took power, American’s believed crime was an aberration and one could pay

one’s debt and resume a normal life. Now, we have a larger percentage of citizens in prison than the old Soviet Union or China. Now, we

don’t punish, we torture. From Nixon to Reagan to Bush, we’ve grown meaner and more afraid, at home and abroad.

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