Highlights
“Crime emerged as an issue in many of the mayoral races around the country.”
Democratic strategist James Carvill: “What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this ‘defund the police’ lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln’s name off of schools. I mean that — people see that,” Carville said.
It might be time for progressives to reevaluate their positions or risk endless election losses.
Author
Article
Per Politico and additional national publications, progressives are livid and blaming less “enlightened” politicians for their astounding losses during recent elections. The volume of articles casting blame is overwhelming.
Yes, there were predictable progressive victories for a few liberal prosecutors or judges or citizen-police review panels, but by and large, it was a sweeping victory for those favoring cops and crime control. The Minneapolis rejection of the dismantling of its police department became worldwide news.
The principal theme after the election was a massive progressive misreading of the public’s mood regarding cops and crime.
Editor’s Note
All quotes are edited and rearranged quotes for brevity.
Stupid Wokeness
Democratic political strategist James Carville blamed his party’s recent losses and weak performance in state elections on “stupid wokeness” on Wednesday.
“PBS NewsHour” host Judy Woodruff asked Carville what went wrong for the Democratic Party in the Virginia gubernatorial race in which Republican Glenn Youngkin beat former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
“What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this ‘defund the police’ lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln’s name off of schools. I mean that — people see that,” Carville said, The Hill.
The Hill
Don Lemon disagrees with Carville on ‘wokeness,’ yet calls defund the police a ‘stupid slogan,’ The Hill.
CNN
Demoralized Democrats need a reckoning after a rough election night that sent serious warning signs that they have misjudged the nation’s mood as their window closes before next year’s midterms,CNN.
Politico
While Democrats were reeling across the country on Tuesday, the electorate’s rightward shift robbed progressives of some notable opportunities to carve out victories on the night.
Perhaps most significantly, in Minneapolis, voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure to overhaul the city’s police department. The measure, which had exposed Democrats to criticism that it aimed to “defund the police” at a time when the city was experiencing a surge in violence, would have replaced the department with a “Department of Public Safety” and eliminated minimum staffing requirements.
And that was on top of the victories for moderates that were already baked in — but finalized on Tuesday. Eric Adams, a moderate Democrat (editor’s note-a police supporter) won the mayor’s race in New York City. And in Ohio, Shontel Brown won the special election to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Marcia Fudge, after defeating Nina Turner, a prominent progressive Democrat, in the primary earlier this year. Politico.
Seattle Times
In Seattle, voters endorsed Ann Davison, a Republican, for city attorney, rejecting the views of her Democratic opponent, Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, who pressed for sweeping justice reforms. Seattle Times
The Crime Report
A proposal to replace the Minneapolis police with a department of public safety was soundly defeated by voters Tuesday, while Austin rejected additional spending on its police force. The two results bracketed a national mood of concern over rising crime with cautious support for change in policing, The Crime Report.
Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Tuesday’s election for governor, a major upset on a night that saw the Virginia GOP make sweeping gains after a nearly decade-long losing streak in statewide elections.
Virginia Mercury
He hit on campaign promises to eliminate the grocery tax, cut taxes on retirement income of Virginia’s veterans and raise salaries for police as well protecting qualified immunity (emphasis added) which critics contend protects law enforcement from consequences of misconduct and abuse, Virginia Mercury
Associated Press
A year after Portland’s police department underwent significant budget cuts amid demands to defund the police, Mayor Ted Wheeler has announced he is seeking more than $5 million this fall for police investments, including hiring more officers and buying body-worn cameras, reports the Associated Press.
Since August 2020, about 200 officers have left the department. Currently, the police department is around 130 officers below its authorized strength. Last year, amid booming calls to defund the police, city leaders slashed more than $25 million from the police budget.
Reuters
Congress failed to enact police reform, Reuters.
National Review
“We were finding that crime was an issue that crossed every path that we had, it didn’t matter what kind of voter you were in Suffolk County — Republican, conservative, unaffiliated, or Democrat. People were not feeling safe,” National Review
National Review
Five of the eleven Minneapolis city-council members seeking reelection were defeated, four of those were open proponents of Defund the Police, and for good measure, a ballot measure passed that stripped powers from the city council and handed them to the mayor. And the city’s progressive mayor, Jacob Frey, was reelected while opposing the anti-police ballot measure, National Review
Axios
Cities and states are unlikely to see many new “defund the police” proposals after Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure to overhaul the city’s police department, one of the nation’s largest police unions tells Axios.
“I believe, by and large, that ship has sailed,” said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, a national police organization that represents 356,000 officers, Axios
New York Post
Anti-police progressives just got trounced across the nation, from Long Island to Seattle. This follows the primary win of Hizzoner-elect Eric Adams: New York City’s second black mayor will take office having vowed from the start to stop crime, progressives be damned, New York Post
Brookings.Edu
Crime is a big issue, and “defund the police” a loser. George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman in the summer of 2020 started a national debate over policing reform. The debate was legitimate and long overdue but, along the way, it garnered the unfortunate name “defund the police.” In this year’s election, a ballot initiative in Minneapolis that encompassed some important elements of police reform lost by a substantial margin—44% voted yes and 56% voted no. The mayoral candidate who promoted the ballot initiative most aggressively also lost.
Crime emerged as an issue in many of the other mayoral races around the country. And while most Democratic candidates stopped using the toxic phrase, they didn’t have to—the Republicans used it for them. In New York City, former police chief Eric Adams, a Democrat, won his race for mayor; during his campaign, he leaned on a particular phrase that ended up resonating: “The prerequisite for prosperity is public safety.”
The Lesson here? Drop “defund the police,” Brookings.
Atlanta
Atlanta’s mayoral race saw Felicia Moore, who promised to hire 250 police officers to her opponent and former Mayor Kasim Reed’s vowed 750 police officers, in the lead and likely to head to a runoff election with over 95% of Fulton County reporting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Moore was at 40% of the vote and the next two candidates, Reed and Andre Dickens, were tied at 23% of the vote with less than a thousand votes between them, according to Fox 5. Just The News
Conclusions/Opinion
The articles above are the tip of the iceberg; crime control and pro-police candidates won, and won big.
We’ve been writing about this continuously for the last two years stating that tough on crime platforms would win elections.
Law enforcement is one of the most respected institutions in America per Gallup and other polling organizations. Most Americans, regardless of demographics and where they live want cops in their communities.
Violent crime is a major concern for most Americans. Fear of crime is at an all-time high. Gun and security sales are skyrocketing, people are leaving cities, US Crime Rates.
It’s amazing to me, and Democratic strategist James Carville, that so many progressives are so clueless about what the public wants.
Possibly eighty-five percent of what I read regarding crime and policing comes from progressive sources. Progressives dominate the conversation. Yet they get slammed in elections.
It might be time for progressives to reevaluate their positions or risk endless rejection.
See More
See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.
Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.
US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.
National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.
An Overview Of Data On Mental Health at Mental Health And Crime.
The Crime in America.Net RSS feed (https://crimeinamerica.net/?feed=rss2) provides subscribers with a means to stay informed about the latest news, publications, and other announcements from the site.
2 Replies to “Cops And Crime Changed American Politics”
Comments are closed.