Republican Oldie but Goodie: Tough on Crime Legislature trades early release program for $1 Billion taxpayer spending spree on Prisons.

In the Bizarro World of Republican politics, nothing is as it seems. What may have once been a strong wedge issue for them is now a bad Democratic idea that needs early termination.

Wausau Assembly Democrat Donna Seidel wrote this:

WausauDailyHareld: Wisconsin's Republican legislators recently repealed almost all of the criminal justice reforms implemented in 2009 by legislative Democrats and former Gov. Jim Doyle. In 2009, the Department of Corrections had just released a "Ten-Year Facility Development Plan" that outlined the tremendous costs to Wisconsin if we continued the policies that Republicans just voted to reinstate. The plan stated that these policies will cost taxpayers $1.2 billion in facility renovations and new prison construction over the next decade.

Wow, Walker and the Fitzgerald’s just put us back in a $1 billion hole, or worse. The problem; the Democrats used research based conclusions to save taxpayer money:

The nonpartisan Council of State Governments (CSG) to provide expert, evidence-based policy recommendations that Wisconsin … to reduce corrections costs without compromising community safety.

The majority of dangerous prisoners, 55 percent, were back in prison because of missed parole appointments are failed drug tests. Scary huh?

But the oddest part; super conservative states adopted similar early release programs:

Many similar initiatives have been adopted in traditionally conservative states under overwhelming Republican political control, such as Kansas and Texas.

You may have caught this terrifying statistic in a recent media puff peace:

A total of 545 inmates have been granted early release, and only 29 have returned to prison after committing new crimes or violating the terms of parole. This is a 5 percent recidivism rate compared to the nearly 45 percent recidivism rate for the general offender population. 

But isn't this why the public voted these guys in?