McManus: the GOP blames the crime

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The claim that Democrats’ criminal justice policies lead to more crime has been a favorite Republican campaign theme for generations. But this time, at least, the facts do not support their accusations.

The upsurge in violent crime began under Republican President Donald Trump. And it came before the murder of George Floyd sparked a campaign by progressives to fund the police.

By the way, this fundraising campaign never really took hold. Biden and other leading Democrats quickly repudiated the slogan. Some major city mayors have recklessly announced plans to cut police budgets, but many, including Los Angeles’ Eric Garcetti, backed down after realizing the idea had little public support.

That doesn’t mean Republicans will stop campaigning for law and order and accusing Democrats of being anti-police. And the tactic might work. Experts expect crime to increase this summer, if only because it happens almost every year. And when bad news does arise, voters tend to blame the incumbent president.

That’s part of why Biden tried last week to make his parties’ waiver of funding formal and irrevocable, announcing he was seeking more funding, not less, for law enforcement. Now is not the time to turn our backs on law enforcement or our communities, he said.

The president announced that state and local governments have his permission to use their coronavirus relief funds to hire police officers, pay police overtime and support anti-violence community groups.

Biden’s aides were careful to point out that those federal dollars would come from the $ 350 billion in state and local government grants that Congress approved in March despite unanimous Republican opposition.

Also, Biden said, he’s asking Congress for even more money to fight crime: $ 300 million in new money for community policing, going directly to law enforcement, and a $ 5 billion fund that include money for community violence interventions.

Bidens’ funding proposals have been paired with moves to crack down on illegal gun sales and expand background checks, a nod to mainstream liberals. But even these have been touted as strategies to tackle violent crime.

Indeed, Biden is taking advantage of the fact that the pandemic has solicited more spending than usual from Congress and has combined traditional police funding proposals with police reforms and daring Republicans to sidestep. oppose it.

What, to anyone’s surprise, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky did quickly, attacking Biden for making gun ownership in the United States heavier than ever and for federalizing and funding. the police.

But the senator did not understand. Biden has pushed his party to where most of the public is. Both parties want to spend more on the police; only one of them also defends police reform and gun control.

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