‘Defund the Police’ Narrative Crumbles as Big City Dems Make Fighting Crime Central to Election Campaigns
“And from Baltimore and Atlanta in the East to San Francisco and Seattle in the West, the [Democrat] candidates and elected officials pushing the party to address crime more aggressively are largely people of color.” – New York Times
For a good two years now, Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media have pushed a false narrative that defunding the police is something that is supported by a majority of the American people, even as poll after poll has shown that simply isn’t true, including among those whom woke activists suggested supported the idea the most: black and Hispanic voters.
Even after some so-called “moderate Democrats” in swing districts blamed the party’s embrace of the Defund the Police movement for the double-digit seat losses House Democrats experienced in the 2020 elections, some – like members of “The Squad” – have still clung to the belief that defunding the police is a winning slogan.
Although the 2022 midterm elections are expected to be brutal for Democrats, some of their candidates in reliably blue parts of the country are trying out what they hope will be a “winning” message on police and fighting crime, singing a much different tune than what we continue to hear from the AOCs of America:
My story today: Violent crime has emerged as a central issue of 2022 – in Democratic primary season
Dem-aligned voters in cities & suburbs are suffering from rising homicides, shootings, carjackings, more
And candidates of color are ringing the alarm 👇https://t.co/UOBbg7yf1E
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) June 3, 2022
“Crime is a real issue for voters in this campaign, & it should be” – @TomPerez, former DNC chair-turned-gov candidate
The trend is clear in 2021-22: From NYC to Seattle and Atlanta to SF, voters and candidates of color are shifting Dems’ message on crimehttps://t.co/UOBbg7yf1E
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) June 3, 2022
From the New York Times piece:
In Democratic strongholds like Maryland, a rise in violent crime has pushed the party’s candidates to address the issue of public safety in newly urgent terms. Even before the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, reignited the debate over gun control, day-to-day gun crimes and other acts of violence were rattling the American electorate.
Long seen as a political wedge for Republicans to use against Democrats, crime is increasingly a subject of concern within the Democratic Party and the big cities that make up much of its political base.
And from Baltimore and Atlanta in the East to San Francisco and Seattle in the West, the candidates and elected officials pushing the party to address crime more aggressively are largely people of color. Candidates are motivated not mainly by fear of Republican attacks, but rather by mounting outcry from the Black, Hispanic and Asian American communities bearing the brunt of a national crime wave.
[…]
Alarming trends have changed the political conversation. In Baltimore, the city is on track to record more than 300 homicides for the eighth straight year, along with a rise in carjackings, robberies and other serious crimes. Concerns about police misconduct in the city have not evaporated seven years after the killing of Freddie Gray in police custody ignited protests and rioting, but persistent violent crime has pushed voters’ tolerance to the breaking point.
Those “alarming trends” played a role in local elections in Democrat-run cities as early as 2021, as Democrat mayoral candidates who spoke against defunding the police in places like Buffalo and New York City won, while in cities like Minneapolis, voters rejected the woke city council’s efforts to “reinvent” the police department and turn it into a “‘public-health oriented’ Department of Public Safety.”
As further proof of how the Black Lives Matter-led effort to defund the police has been a miserable failure, a recent poll of New York City voters shows their top concern remains crime, while “racial inequality” barely ranks:
The BLM narrative has collapsed: New York City voters now believe that "crime" is a more urgent concern than "racial inequality" by a 12:1 margin.
h/t @Rafa_Mangual pic.twitter.com/MwrEsoztQL
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 3, 2022
A deeper dive into the numbers shows that black and Hispanic voters overwhelmingly agree with that sentiment.
As I’ve said before, not only has the “Defund the Police” movement been a disaster for Democrats politically, but it’s also proved to be devastating and deadly in the cities where the anti-police rhetoric and actions by their respective city councils have been the strongest.
That said, the Cori Bushes and AOCs of America are still crowing loudly about the so-called “need” for funding to be pulled from police departments, which is something you can be sure Republican candidates in battleground parts of the country will be using against their opponents in the fall elections.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
“People of Color”, includes: black, brown, yellow, red, orange, and, of course, the full spectrum white, refers to color blocs (e.g. racism) in diversity dogma of the Pro-Choice “ethical” religion adopted and normalized by progressive churches, synagogues, agencies, corporations, clinics, etc.
Inner city leaders are apoplectic that they were misunderstood during the Floyd peaceable demonstrations. Racism caused many ( through the vehicle of white privilege) to mishear what they were saying. They were complimenting the good nature of law enforcement. In their quaint and genuine urban patois (Ebonics) they were crying out “Dey’s Fun Da Police.”
And meanwhile Gascon in LA just let a so-called ‘juvenile’ off with a few months in camp for running down a mother and her 8 month old baby in a stolen car and trying to flee the scene.
And oh by the way he was already on probation for spiking a girl’s drink and putting her in the hospital.
Leftists are simply incapable of holding people accountable for their actions.
Because they are servants of the devil
I hadn’t heard about the drink spiking. Do you have a link for that?
I did see the video of him swerving to hit the woman and the stroller, followed by the pickup truck driver swerving to force him into the pole. And one of the bystanders trying (and unfortunately failing) to kick in the driver-side window and administer far more justice than the ‘justice system’ did.
I’m looking forward to Tuesday and the recall of Chesea Boudin.
What party is counting the votes?
Subotai Bahadur
Machines. With the Swamp at the keyboard.
Fat chance. In San Francisco? Republicans could be counting the votes and the recall is going nowhere.
Defund the police. Hey wait, we might need the police sometime.
Fund Ukraine. Hey wait, we might need that money sometime.
I’m no longer comfortable going into the larger cites along the east coast. I’m concerned about crime.
There is a key reason for not doing so. Back decades ago when crime was high, you knew to stay away from certain areas and you would be OK. Now a shocking amount of the violent crime is random, where the victim is unknown to the perp, and could occur anywhere.
I dont limit it to the east coast. You’d not find me in Atlanta voluntarily, or Los Angeles, or San Francisco, or ANY large city.
Why would anyone believe this? It’s the Democrat DAs who have been letting the violent criminals off the hook
The cause of violent crime in blue cities is the oppression of POC by police. By all means, slash police budgets to the bone.
Let’s see how that works.
Democrat candidates may pretend to support some level of police right up until the votes are delivered hours after the polls close. But they are lying. And once they are safely re-installed in office, it is back to attacking the cops. And one thing that can be guaranteed is that voters in Democrat controlled areas will follow the whiplash both ways and claim no conflict.
Subotai Bahadur
Smart Republicans will hang those liberal DAs around every Dem candidate’s neck. Next, the daily TV of shoplifting and the large rise in local suburban car and catalytic converter thefts will be a constant reminder. Finally, Republicans would be smart to point out that some part of the huge inflation is price increases to make up for all the unstopped shoplifting. Although it may not be a large amount, it has to be something and could anger people when the connection is drawn.
Who is this smart Republican that you speak of so I may support him/her too.
This is the Dumb-o-crat hypocrites’ way — whichever direction the political winds are blowing, today, that’s the side/issue to which they’ll pledge their support. Even if said position represents a 180-degree shift from their previously-stated allegiance, held yesterday. Vile bastards. They possess no conviction or integrity, whatsoever. All that they know is political self-interest and expediency.
“Big City Dems Make Fighting Crime Central to Election Campaigns”
I thought supporting police was racist. I hope the right keeps reminding people that the left has been for defunding the police for the last several years.
The Dems fully realize that the attention span and memory retention of their voters allows for them to say and do opposite things with no blowback. As Orwell wrote in 1984…..all that matters is now and the Party. The past doesn’t exist.
Who is going to staff these newly revitalized, blue city police departments? Uvalde cops seeking lateral transfers?
Portland and Seattle PD as well. And, no need for a uniform allowance for shoes. By standing there and doing nothing, the soles and heels are in very good repair.