I call on Congress to act this month on measures that would be a first step in this direction. Starting with real police reform. Congressman Jeffries has a bill to outlaw choke holds. Congress should put it on President Trump’s desk in the next few days. There are other measures: to stop transferring weapons of war to police forces, to improve oversight and accountability, to create a model use of force standard – that also should be made law this month. Of course, there was no real effort at police reform... That was just cover from top-level Democrats like Biden so they could pander to the anti-cop elements within the Democrat party. Now that the political winds have shifted, Democrats are rapidly trying to spin a narrative where they don’t look like their party has dabbled in pro-criminal lunacy for a whole year with disastrous consequences. This newfound pro-police narrative for Democrats is so disingenuous, it has become fodder for Right-wing mockery. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas summed up the Democrats’ absurd about-face well enough when he said on Fox News late last month: For them to come out and claim that it’s Republicans who want to defund the police, that’s like an arsonist showing up at the fire and blaming the firemen. That’s like the Chinese blaming the Americans for the Wuhan virus. That’s like OJ [Simpson] saying he’s gonna help find the real killer.
A quick look at the data shows why Democrats are so rapidly moving away from “defund the police.” Polling has been consistent in 2021 that only about 20% of the American people support the concept in theory. Overwhelmingly, those who believe in actual “defunding” or even abolition of police (a fringe but growing movement on the Left) are well-off white liberals who live in safe neighborhoods. They gladly signal their virtue while low-income minorities disproportionately suffer the consequences of “defund” put into action.
Now that the political winds have shifted, Democrats are rapidly trying to spin a narrative where they don’t look like their party has
Cities like New York, Minneapolis, Austin, Los Angeles, Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Atlanta either began the process of defunding in 2020 or actually made major budget cuts to their police forces. Some have tried to reallocate some portion of funds to social workers or “violence interruption” programs, while others have merely cut the police without any plan at all (realistic or not) to supplement public safety. The results have been predictably awful... In 2020, the U.S. went through the worst 12-month increase in homicides and shootings in two decades. There were many major American cities that saw 30% or more increases in the murder rate. Six months into
American Consequences
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