“Democrats Sorting Out The Wreckage” Republicans Won Big Because Of Protests, Crime And Cops

Highlights

Joe Biden famously said, “Give me the crime issues and you will never lose an election.” He was right.

House Democrats are asking themselves one question after Tuesday’s election stunner: What the hell happened?

In the House, bleary-eyed Democrats were still sorting out the wreckage when they awoke Wednesday.

Detractors, justice advocates, and reporters viciously railed against cops while the rest of the nation thought they were out of touch with reality.

Author

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.

Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.

Article (slightly modified quotes for readability)

The Senate stayed in Republican hands, Republican gains were made in the House, there were major Republican advantages at the state level, there was a considerable Hispanic shift to Trump, Biden has a razor-thin lead, and most of this happened at a huge funding disadvantage.

It was supposed to be a progressive revolution. There was talk about the end of Republican influence for years to come.

Progressives and mainstream Democrats are now blaming Democratic House leadership. Summary-“are we really that out of touch with the America public?”

Politico-“Dumpster Fire” House Democrats Trade Blame After Tuesday’s Damage

House Democrats are asking themselves one question after Tuesday’s election stunner: What the hell happened?

In the House, bleary-eyed Democrats were still sorting out the wreckage when they awoke Wednesday with dozens of their members’ races still uncalled and not a single GOP incumbent ousted — an outcome that virtually no one in the party had predicted in a year in which Democrats were going on the offense deep in Trump country.

Even with tens of thousands of ballots still to be counted, shell-shocked Democratic lawmakers, strategists and aides privately began trying to pin the blame: The unreliable polls. The GOP’s law-and-order message amid a summer of unrest (emphasis added), Politico.

Politico-An Abysmal Showing By Democrats In State Legislative Races

An abysmal showing by Democrats in state legislative races on Tuesday not only denied them victories in Sun Belt and Rust Belt states that would have positioned them to advance their policy agenda — it also put the party at a disadvantage ahead of the redistricting that will determine the balance of power for the next decade, Politico.

VOX-Trump’s Gains With Hispanic Voters…..

But there should be some broader rethinking prompted by the breadth of Trump’s improvements with segments of the Latino population that one might anticipate would be more open to a conservative message on either foreign policy or cultural issues, VOX.

CNBC-Mike Bloomberg Takes Big Losses After Spending Over $100 million in Florida, Ohio and Texas

Billionaire and former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg’s more than $100 million investment into three key states fell flat as President Donald Trump appears to have captured all of them, CNBC.

Nothing More Fundamental Than Personal And Family Safety

Yes, I understand that COVID and the economy took center stage, but I believe that something more intrinsic and powerful played a significant and deciding role.

There is nothing more fundamental than personal and family safety. That theme has been part of my analysis (and the examinations of endless others) in dozens of articles discussing crime, fear, and perceptions of law enforcement.

Detractors, justice advocates and reporters viciously railed against cops while advocating for leniency for violent offenders while the rest of the nation thought they were out of touch with reality.

Social Media Videos Won Elections

Every time a protestor screamed profanities at a stoic cop from inches away, every time a brick or Molotov cocktail was hurled at cops, every time a video showed massive destruction during riots, every time footage showed innocent (sometimes elderly) people being viciously assaulted, every time a business was destroyed, someone decided to vote for Republicans.

This was the first time social media won an election; ninety-nine percent of these videos were not offered by mainstream media. It seemed that every time I looked at my social media feeds, there were more examples causing people to think we have lost control of a civil society.

Citizens voted for a return to order.

COPS

Cops have taken the public relations beating of a lifetime. Some of it was deserved. Yes, the George Floyd video was disgusting.

But throughout the use of force discussion, voters mostly saw officers making split-second decisions under very dangerous circumstances. They have also been exposed to stories about people no longer wanting to be cops and the hoards of officers currently leaving the job at the insistence of family members.

Without cops, citizen safety is jeopardized, which is a partial reason why so many are currently leaving cities and buying firearms.

By the way, polls continue to rate police officers highly (yes, there is slippage) suggesting that they are among the most trusted organizations in America (rating far better than Congress or the media).

Direct interactions with officers are rated highly regardless of race. Studies of people in high crime areas show a desire for more officers and a great reluctance to defund them, Perceptions of Law Enforcement.

Crime

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice, there has been a 28 percent increase in violent crime in America since 2015. Serious violent crime has increased. Gallup suggests that violent incidents tripled. Reputable and academic sources also record increases. FBI data (crimes reported to police) show small decreases or flat rates.

Fear of crime has also increased, Crime in The US.

Per one study, crime costs more than spending on national defense, Costs of Crime.

Media Examples (abbreviated quotes)

I searched “law and order” and “Trump” and “Republicans” the day after the election (for the previous 24 hours) and got 369,000,000 results.

Overall, though, voters view Trump more favorably than they did in 2016, according to the results. More voters also said this year that they think Trump is presidential, and more said they are optimistic about the prospect of his victory, NBC News.

Trump positioned himself as a defender of police and cast the protesters as radicals — part of an appeal to suburban and older voters who he thought would embrace a law and order message, St. Louis Today

President Trump is slated to win Kenosha County, Wisconsin, “easily” following riots there this year and a tight race in 2016. Rioters took to the streets of Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23. City officials requested $30 million in aid after the destruction in the city and estimated there was $2 million in damage to government property. The president, at the moment, is turning 2-1 over Joe Biden, Washington Examiner.

But suffice to say — whether it was the law and order push or the effort to tie Democrats to socialism — the Trump campaign’s efforts paid huge dividends in Miami-Dade County. Joe Biden won the county, but his margin there was too small to offset the reservoir of Republican votes elsewhere, Politico.

“The biggest issue for me would be law and order,” Janacek said. “And keeping the economy strong.” He said he was concerned about law and order because of unrest and other events that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Mooresville Tribune.

Conclusions

Yes, I understand that law enforcement is far from perfect and things must change (including increased funding). Yes, I acknowledge the racial animosity that currently and historically exists.

We within the justice system exist to serve and that includes everyone. Anyone embracing animosity or prejudice doesn’t deserve our support.

Protests are Constitutionally protected and necessary for a fully functioning government.

But I also understand the world of cops after nearly shooting someone with a gun during a traffic stop when I was an officer (it turned out to be an inoffensive starter pistol). The shooting would have been justified, but I would have had to live with it for the rest of my life.

The justice system has problems. We are far from perfect. But most people understand that it’s abundantly easy to make mistakes when your life is at risk and you have seconds to make a decision.

Citizens understand that there really are massively dangerous people out there and the only people standing between them and violent offenders are cops. Attacking them is gives the impression that you are putting citizens at risk as scores of officers leave the job or refuse to be cops.

Joe Biden famously said, “Give me the crime issues and you will never lose an election,” Joe Biden.

Republicans will suggest that he was right.

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