Our jails our full. Our prison is full. Our state has been inundated with the Mexican Drug Cartel-fueled drugs, violence, and crime. So where do we put all the criminals when the jails and prison are full?

Montana's governor and Republican supermajority in the state legislature have come up with what seems to be, so far, the only plausible short-term solution to this crisis. Core Civic, the same company that runs a prison south of Shelby, Montana, can apparently house 120 of our prisoners down in Arizona.

Long-term we really need more prison space here in Montana. (Hmmm maybe they should have allowed the Hardin Detention Center to get up and running years ago when the Democrats were running the state?) We also need to continue to support treatment programs and other options that can hopefully lower the recidivism rate. But as it stands right now, we have tipped the scales far too greatly in that direction, and too many criminals are being dumped right back out onto the streets of Montana- if they're even put behind bars in the first place.

According to the liberal blog, The Daily Montanan, Democrats are outraged at the plan to ship 120 prisoners to Arizona.

One of the concerns raised by Democrats- they "wondered how families with members who are in prison would be able to communicate with them that far away."

I get that they are concerned about the criminals in prison being able to see their families. But we are in a crisis, and the state has GOT to do something- NOW.

And that is where Rep. John Fitzpatrick (R-Anaconda) came in and nailed it. He brought up the concerns of the victims and their families. When it comes to the criminals, “a lot of families are happy that they’re a long ways away.” Isn't that kind of the whole point of prison? Let's just say, the Democrats did not like that response at all.

By the way, I talked about this whole issue in much depth earlier this morning. If you want the more fiery, knee-jerk reaction- listen to the 6A hour below. If you want more of a deep-dive approach- listen to the 8A hour below. And, if you want to hear what Speaker of the House Matt Regier out of Kalispell has to say about it- listen to the statewide 9A hour.

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