Pirro claims that "�the difference between Democrats and Republicans" is that Republicans "don't want [sex offenders who have served their sentences] next door molesting children and murdering women." In other words, offenders who have paid their debt to society by serving their sentences should never regain their liberty because they might cause harm in the future. By that reasoning, corporate thieves, illegal polluters, and every other white collar criminal should be detained forever, because there's always a possibility that they'll reoffend, perhaps causing harm to a neighbor. And hey, many of us don't want to live next door to those folks, so why not lock them up forever?

It is not to Clinton's credit that (according to her spokesperson) she supports sexual predator laws, although Clinton's position makes it even more puzzling that Pirro is raising the issue. But Pirro's effort to gain traction in her disastrous campaign by playing the "crime card" is out of step with a public that is increasingly skeptical of the "lock 'em up forever" mentality that has dominated crime debate for more than a quarter century. Pirro's desire to meddle with state law issues rather than focusing on the federal issues she'd have to confront as a senator demonstrates how ill-equipped she is to assume federal office. She should continue her career as a county prosecutor, where her posturing at least makes sense.