Ginni Thomas

GOP Sen. Lights A Path In Congress To Protect Americans From ‘Heinous Crimes’

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Ginni Thomas Contributor
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In this exclusive video interview for The Daily Caller News Foundation, Arkansas Sen. [crscore]Tom Cotton[/crscore] explains why polls show Americans’ anxieties about safety in the face of terrorism and crime are at record high levels.

The lanky, calm freshman sporting a new beard says, “A lot of the Obama administration policies are undermining the safety and security of the American people and there is a sense of fear in the country because of those very short-sighted, very wrong-headed policies.”

Congress can get excessively focused on “governing” and negotiating deals with President Barack Obama, and “too often we forget here” in the Senate the importance of stopping bad legislation, Cotton says. As a political matter, “drawing sharp contrast” can be important, and since Democrats appear poised to nominate a socialist, this should be easy.

Examining Republican presidential nominees Donald Trump and Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore], Cotton senses Trump’s popularity on mass immigration policy has broken through the political elite’s stubborn mindset that mistakenly thought immigration policy was more malleable. As for Cruz, Cotton flashes a smile and says, “Ted’s obviously rocked the boat a little bit in the Senate,” but it is the voters, not the elite, who “ultimately make up our party.”

Cotton’s two most prominent battles have been fighting Obama’s Iran Deal, and a new “unwise” criminal leniency bill — called S. 2123 — that threatens to “let out early thousands of violent felons, drug-dealers, traffickers and other convicted felons, often times repeat-offenders.”

Cotton is currently battling fellow Republican Sens. [crscore]Mike Lee[/crscore], [crscore]John Cornyn[/crscore], Chuck Grassley, as well as the Koch brothers, on this criminal reform bill, and explains the myths that are driving and confusing the debate on this Obama legacy bill.

“We are in a time when too many people are stigmatizing police,” he says. With more prison releases happening due to pressure from “strange bedfellows” from both sides of the aisle, budget constraints and policy changes, recidivism has caused brutal crimes across the country, including these murders in Ohio. “Heinous crimes against innocent Americans” will be the consequences if Congress gets this legislation wrong, Cotton adds.

Looking at international policy, Cotton sees a dire need to correct previous missteps. The Arkansas native explains the Republican Congress, especially the Senate, failed to stop the Obama deal with Iran.

The best that can be said, Cotton believes, is that Obama’s Iran deal is not actually binding and the public opposed it. It is only “an understanding” with America’s mortal enemy. Without the Senate approving the deal, according to the Constitution, any president “cannot consummate an agreement with another nation for the long term,” Cotton says.

He expects a new American leadership to fundamentally change this agreement. Now that the sanctions are off Iran and money is flowing, companies tempted to go to Iran for the “gold rush” might want to think twice about the coming election, as he expects new, punishing sanctions around the corner.

For reminders on the failed congressional effort to stop the Iran deal, see herehere and here.

For more on Sen. Tom Cotton, go to his website here or follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @SenTomCotton.

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