Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, recently said it is time for Congress to take up criminal justice reform and while it is very much overdue, it is a welcome change of pace.
Currently, the bills addressing criminal justice reform would reduce the sentencing for nonviolent offenders and raise funding for services dedicated to finding steady jobs and housing for those coming out of jail. But Ryan’s change of tone is not what is most promising — it’s what he said in his speech announcing the change.
He took ownership on himself and the way he and his party had acted on the issue, taking blame for the prior failed policies. He explained how the War on Drugs and overly harsh sentencing policies of the ’90s had failed and that it had destroyed lives.
Criminal justice reform is the perfect way for Ryan to start getting Congress to work together. Both parties largely agree that criminal justice inequalities are a huge problem. Out of 100,000 African Americans, 2,207 are incarcerated — alarming compared to the 380 white people incarcerated for every 100,000. So, despite what some political commentators may argue, this is not a partisan issue and is a great way to get Congress to start working for the American people again.
“We need to make redemption something that is valued in our culture and our society and in our laws,” Ryan said.
Ryan is proposing taking up bills that should be passed with bipartisan support, which in today’s America, is rare. But again, the real amazing thing is the way in which he did it.
“We’re going to bring criminal justice reform bills, which are now out of the Judiciary Committee and advance this,” Ryan said. “Because what we’re learning is, and what I learned — I didn’t necessarily know this before — is, you know, redemption’s a beautiful thing.”
Even more of a rarity, Ryan is adapting on the job, learning as he goes and not “sticking to his guns” because maybe one of those guns isn’t actually so great.
In a time when politics has been totally and absolutely polarized and uncompromising, Ryan is beginning to lead the charge in the opposite direction. Speaking on another contentious issue, social welfare, he kept true to his new form.
He cited a time in which he and his Republican colleagues had separated people into “makers” and “takers,” labeling those who take welfare as takers. But he said recently he came to the understanding that most people don’t want to be dependent, that most people don’t want to be reliant on the government.
Most striking in his speech, was the phrase, “I was just wrong.”
Let that sink in. When was the last time you heard a politician, especially one as powerful as Ryan, say they were wrong?
He wasn’t only admitting being wrong on an issue as nonpartisan as criminal justice reform, he was admitting it on one of the most partisan issues. In the political climate we are in today, it is refreshing to see a politician buck the trend within his own party and stick his neck out for the American people.
Maybe Ryan is just trying to be the polar opposite of Donald Trump, realizing that in the next election cycle that the opposite of Trump will be very appealing. Maybe he’s using some political savvy.
But I’ll hold out hope, and I hope we can all hold out hope that a promising politician actually has a heart and can have empathy for the people he represents.
Luke Schaetzel ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and journalism.
