I partially agree that we do elect "tough on crime politicians" and we get what we elect. But part of the problem is that we also live in a reactive society instead of a proactive one. We react to incidents with tough laws that sound good when emotions are high and in the moment. Yet we fail to consider the long-term consequences of those laws, so 5-10 years down the road we face the real results of the law. We also live in a society where it is easy to be lazy with laws and take a zero-tolerance approach. I would characterize it more as we have "tough on crime politicians" who don't start that way, but over time become that way because of lobbying efforts and reelection campaigns.