History repeats itself: Sen. Andy Sanborn's 2008 'Willie Horton kind of attack'

The Willie Horton-style mailer distributed by state Sen. Andy Sanborn (R-Bedford) is not the first time he’s accused an opponent of being soft on crime. This from the Concord Monitor’s write-up of a 2008 debate between Sanborn and then-Sen. Harold Janeway:

Although smiling and sometimes laughing at each other’s jokes, the pair, a study in contrasts, didn’t shy away from attacks. At one point, citing Janeway’s call for reviewing sentencing guidelines, Sanborn accused Janeway of being soft on crime.

“I guess my question to Harold is: How many people does he feel he needs to let out of prison to balance the budget?” asked Sanborn, who has called for greater sentences for violent offenders.

“This is sort of the Willie Horton kind of attack,” Janeway said quietly. Horton, a convicted murderer serving time in Massachusetts, was released on furlough before committing armed robbery and rape in 1986. George H.W. Bush used the Horton case during the 1988 presidential race to undo the campaign of Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis, who was Massachusetts governor at the time of Horton’s release.

Janeway said a significant number of nonviolent offenders who are in prison for offenses like bad checks or parole violations could potentially be penalized with GPS bracelets, allowing the state to save money and better target its prison budget.