After a series of demoralizing setbacks, Madame Justice returns with a vengeance today, striking a blow against the prison-industrial complex, racism, and those who would trample further upon our civil liberties. As many of you may have heard by now, Stop-and-Frisk has been struck down and the Justice Department is reigning in mandatory minimums.
I have nothing to add to the analysis of what this means for the country or the people who will benefit from this shift. But what I think needs to be shouted from the rooftops, is that these victories for justice were only made possible by political victories: if Mitt Romney or John McCain were in the White House, mandatory minimums would still be on track to wreak havoc upon families and communities everywhere. Similarly, if Bush 41 or Dubya had filled the seat held by the judge who struck down stop-and-frisk and not Bill Clinton, a conservative judge would never have struck down this law.
Is this all fairly obvious to those of us following politics closely? Yes. But to anyone you know who is supportive of either or both of these decisions but who also believes that both parties are the same, that elections don't have consequences, or that their is no value in participating in the political process, shout at the top of your lungs, "Elections matter!"