Project for Opportunity and Safety

Norquist: Criminal justice reform dies without conservatives

Conservative activist Grover Norquist argued Tuesday that nobody would have taken criminal justice reform seriously if it had only been advanced by the Left, without help from conservatives.

At a discussion hosted by the advocacy group Right on Crime, the Americans for Tax Reform president said “the Left can’t participate in this debate until we open up the zone.”

Norquist said he was involved in the issue long before founding Americans for Tax Reform, and he said he realized that those on the Left were “incapable of participating in reforming criminal justice because they weren’t interested in the subject.” He said no one was going to listen to them even if they “got the right answer” because of perceptions they were “weak on crime.”

“It grows out from the red states, from the Republican and conservative states,” said Norquist. He noted that Texas was the first to tackle civil asset forfeiture, over-criminalization, mens rea and licensing issues that prevent felons from obtaining legitimate employment.

After red states were able to successfully implement these “very good conservative positions” without politicians losing elections over the issue, other states began to follow suit.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity for conservatives to message, ‘I care and to mean it,'” said Norquist, adding that the right should consider it as the model for future public policy reform efforts.