Did Obama and the Koch Brothers Just Become Best Friends?

by Julie Borowski

Everyone knows that the Koch brothers are liberal enemy number one. They’re allegedly evil right-wing billionaires who are bankrolling everyone that liberals disagree with. So, it was surprising when President Obama gave them a positive shout out at the annual NAACP convention for their efforts on criminal justice reform.

“No,” Obama said after receiving laughs from the crowd, “You’ve got to give them credit. You’ve got to call it like you see it.”

The unlikely Obama-Koch alliance have been working together on the issue behind the scenes. Believe it or not.

Criminal justice reform is one of those rare issues that transcends party lines. Politics is typically so divisive and neither side wants to listen to each other. It’s a bit unusual when the Center for American Progress and FreedomWorks both agree on an issue. I guess the need for more justice is so obvious that no one can deny it.

Not even Obama. Obama and I have had our fair share of disagreements. OK, a lot of disagreements.

I’ve criticized him for being a hypocrite on the War on Drugs. Obama admitted in his book that he used marijuana and cocaine in his past. Surely, his life probably would have turned out a lot different if he had been arrested for cocaine. Yet, once he became president, he seemed totally fine with other people being thrown in jail due to the War on Drugs. His administration even launched crackdowns on medical marijuana dispensaries in states where it is legal.

It’s good to see him change his tune lately. He just became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison. “These are young people who made mistakes that aren’t that different from the mistakes I made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made,” he said while touring the prison. “That’s what strikes me—there but for the grace of God.”

Exactly. Good for him for admitting that.

Obama has basically endorsed the SAFE Justice Act. He’s yet to endorse it by name, but he has publicly endorsed the content of the bill. FreedomWorks’ Jason Pye writes, “The SAFE Justice Act is offers sweeping justice reform. The bill addresses over-federalization of criminal law and over-criminalization in federal law. It focuses on sentencing reforms, many of which reflect provisions in the Smarter Sentencing Act, by creating a second “safety valve” exception to mandatory minimums to include more low-level, nonviolent offenders with little to no criminal history. It provides eligibility for resentencing under the safety valve and makes the provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive.”

I’m sure most libertarians will want to go further. But, remember we are talking about a bill that Obama supports. Using that standard, hey, it’s not bad and it appears to be a step in the right direction.

I wanted to write about something positive– for once. It’s refreshing to see people from opposite ends of the political spectrum working together to make positive changes. More of this, please.