Criminal Justice Reform And The Hypocrisy Of The Left

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

That the Democrats currently in power, their allies in the media — and the useful idiots in the various “social justice”, “antifa” and “protest” movements — are hypocrites should be so obvious by now as to be nearly axiomatic.

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As an example, the same group who has routinely tarred all law enforcement with the same brush as bad cops every time there’s a shooting they can capitalize on for political points, and openly talk about “defunding the police,” quickly called Capitol Police “heroes” and decried the death of one officer, after their own precious hides were threatened.

As an example, the Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison on Jan. 10 tweeted:

The word hero does not appropriately describe officer Eugene Goodman. His judgment & heroism may have saved our Republic. I hope @SpeakerPelosi @SenSchumer @WhipClyburn consider him for the Congressional Medal of Honor. (emphasis added) It is the least we can do.

He had to come back a bit later to note he meant the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow on a civilian, as opposed to the Medal of Honor, which is the nation’s highest military honor, but I digress.

Thus we understand a bit about the people involved. 

So on February 7, William Skaff, a retired director of policy analysis for the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington DC, and who lives in Virginia — where the General Assembly is considering a spate of extreme gun control laws, and passed even crazier “criminal justice reform” bills — penned an open letter calling out the hypocrisy in his state.

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And frankly, the rest of the country.

Police reform legislation, so-called, puts law-abiding citizens of every category at a disadvantage. This legislation reduces the effectiveness of law enforcement to keep us safe while eliminating accountability and disincentives for violent predators and habitual criminals to commit crimes.

He’s … not wrong … and moreover, defunding the police has already stretched-thin departments in danger of losing control of their cities entirely.

As the Wall Street Journal noted in July:

In Milwaukee, homicides are up 37% so far this year, on pace to break the record of 167 in 1991, which included 16 murders by convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Homicides so far this year in Chicago are ahead of the pace of 2016, which marked the city’s highest tally since 1996. In New York and Los Angeles, which have seen falling numbers of homicides for years, killings this year are up 23% and 11.6%, respectively. Kansas City, Mo., has recorded 99 killings since January, far outpacing any record for the first six months of the year.

Police departments already face budget cuts around the U.S., the result of falling tax revenues from pandemic lockdowns. Covid-19 has also made it difficult for officers to safely conduct community outreach, say experts, worsening police-community relations.

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Skaff makes the case even better, noting that every single measure passed is going to put criminals back on the streets faster — and adversely affecting minority communities disproportionately.

Those politicians who claim to want to help minorities economically are now supporting legislation that forgives thieves who rob minority homes and small family businesses. HB 2290 will eliminate enhanced penalties for criminals with repeat convictions for theft.

These same politicians — and their media and non-profit lickspittles (looking at you Josh Sugarmann) — also want to disarm the minority communities they so piously claim to want to protect. 

This sort of thing is why gun sales are at record levels and showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Skaff hits the nail on the head at the end of his piece:

The objective of police reform legislation at this point appears to be weakening the police collectively and pandering for votes among the criminal population. The collateral damage will be minority neighborhoods, and all other neighborhoods, who will be more vulnerable to crime without adequate police protections. Already, municipalities where the police have been “reformed” are experiencing a sharp increase in crime. Some have even repealed “defund the police” measures.

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What Skaff misses here, is this is a feature, not a bug. Once the “defund” movement has made crime skyrocket, calls for gun control may seem more reasonable to the Average Joe, and once the cities have become ungovernable, how long do you think it will be, before the federal government steps in to “restore order?” 

 

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