Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas appeared on Fox News this past Sunday, March 21 to speak with Chris Wallace about the Democrats' pandemic relief bill and its supposedly unnecesary provisions.
Cotton recently attacked the Democrats' bill by saying it would send stimulus checks to prisoners, something he doesn't believe they are entitled to.
Wallace confronted Cotton's claim, pointing out both of the Republican pandemic relief bills included this same provision.
Wallace highlighted Cotton's hypocrisy, saying:
"But Senator, under two previous [pandemic] relief bills that you supported and voted for and that President Trump signed, prisoners also got checks in those bills."
Cotton claimed, although the Republican bills authorized payments to prisoners, those payments were then given against the will of the Republicans who authorized them.
He commented:
"That was obviously never Congress' intent. The Trump administration, the IRS and the Treasury Department did not send checks to prisoners. Liberal advocacy groups sued to try to force that. A liberal judge said they had to."
"This month was the first time we had a simple up or down vote on whether those checks should go to prisoners. And the simple fact is that every Democrat voted to keep sending checks to prisoners."
Cotton seems to believe helping prisoners—who may have children to support and debts to pay—will have a negative impact on him politically.
Inmates are expected to pay for many basic human necessities.
While some prisoners committed terrible crimes, some committed only minor infractions.
Still others are innocent and awaiting trial in prison because they can't afford bail.
When politicians visit Chris Wallace, even Republicans, they'd better come prepared to face their own inconsistencies, because he's developed a reputation for finding them.
