When Gretchen Whitmer first ran for Michigan Governor, she touted herself as friendly towards prison reforms. She even selected a Lt. Governor, Gilchrist, as a running mate, in part because of his support for criminal justice and prison reforms.
Since she was elected, Whitmer has done next to nothing to reform prisons or the criminal justice system. About the only positive thing that has changed is greater funding for the indigent defense fund, which started under Governor Snyder. So much for promises of reforms.
It's not surprising, or new, that politicians use politically expedient promises to get elected. Yet, it's discouraging and disappointing to know that so many political promises are simply ploys to get elected.
A recent Republican TV ad attacking V.P. Harris touts her promise to fund sex change operations for prisoners who want gender reassignment surgery. I don't know when Harris made this promise, or even how serious she was about it, but I had to laugh when I saw the ad.
Michigan prisoners can't even get a Tylenol from prison medical services. I personally know numerous prisoners at my current prison facility who can't get treatment for serious medical conditions, like cancer, serious hernias, heart issues, hip replacement surgeries, hepatitis-C, and debilitating pain. These issues seem significantly more important to me than elective surgeries.
It might be politically expedient for Harris, or other politicians, to make progressive promises of reform, but the reality is that most political promises are empty. More importantly, though, is that promises like paying for gender reassignment surgery demonstrates a complete lack of touch with the real life and death issues faced by the vast majority of prisoners.
I have an idea. How about improving the quality of food served to us so we aren't fed food past its expiration date or that not intended for human consumption? Or how about improving health care so serious medical issues are not ignored in order to maximize profits? How about addressing the staff shortages by passing real sentencing and prison reforms?
These are the real issues that politicians need to address, but empty promises that make headlines are more salacious than addressing real needs.
