While the efforts of advocates and justice professionals to promote community-based programs for offenders often fell to the conservative mantra of being “tough on crime”, apparently some conservatives have finally felt the sting of the high costs of incarceration in their pocketbook – to the point of suggesting that the drive to build and fill prisons as the way to control crime maybe isn’t the right way after all.  Who, you might ask, has awaken to this realization after taking a nap for 20+ years – none other than Newt Gingrich.  In an article in the Washington Post, Mr. Gingrich has apparently discovered a national movement to promote proven prison reforms that both protect the community and reduce costs.  It would be nice if Mr. Gingrich wasn’t just focused on the fiscal aspects of this – since incarcerating offenders needlessly has powerful impacts on families and children that are not captured in the “cost” – but, maybe we should take this awakening as an opportunity to build bridges with those that formerly bashed any kind of correctional reform initiatives.  One might be suspicious that his awakening is also tied to efforts to privatize prisons and further undercut public employee unions – but wouldn’t it be interesting if this was the beginning of finding some common ground?  I guess time will tell.