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Van Jones Gets Flak From The Left For Praising Conservatives At CPAC

Apparently it’s bad to call for bipartisan solutions when it comes to fixing our broken criminal justice system, according to liberal pundits.

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CNN Commentator Van Jones appeared on a panel at CPAC on Thursday, where he called for bipartisanship and praised conservatives for leading the charge on criminal justice reform. Vox Journalist Aaron Rupar wasted no time posting clips of the panel and stirring up attacks on Jones from Resistance Twitter.

Jones is a Democrat who worked closely with Jared Kushner and the White House in rallying support for the FIRST STEP Act, the recently passed criminal justice reform legislation.

“The conservative movement in this country, unfortunately from my point of view, is now the leader on this issue of reform,” Jones said. “You look at Mississippi, a rock-ribbed, total conservative former jailer is now the governor. Governor Bryan cut the prison population and crime at the same time. [Governor Nathan] Deal in Georgia cut the prison population and crime at the same time. … What you’re seeing now is Republican governors being tough on the dollars. Tough on crime and shrinking the prison population.”

Vans is right that credit is due to conservatives in red states who led the charge on criminal justice reform over a decade ago. The FIRST STEP Act heavily borrowed from Texas’s playbook on sentencing, rehabilitation, and re-entry programs. Of the 28 states that have embarked on criminal justice reform of some degree, 19 were led by Republican governors or legislatures.

Left-leaning news outlet Splinter criticized Jones’ comments and work on the FIRST STEP Act as, “woefully inadequate.” Even though red states have cut prison populations and crime rates, writer Paul Blest wants to focus on, “how things got so bad in the first place: by both Democrats and Republicans adopting a punitive view of criminal justice.”

Rupar also criticized Jones’ call for bipartisanship, a topic Jones wrote a best-selling book on, with face-palm emojis for saying the left and right “need each other.”

“I’ve never seen a bird fly with only a left wing…” Jones said.

Bros4America called Jones a “Sellout.”

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1101210262412165120

What a way to do the exact opposite of what Jones is advocating. Good job, everyone.