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| AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster |
Skyrocketing crime in cities nationwide was the focus of heated election-year rhetoric in Congress on Wednesday, as Republicans blamed Democrats for efforts to defund the police, while Democratic lawmakers made a pitch for law-and-order initiatives.
In simultaneous press gatherings on Capitol Hill, House Democrats touted new legislation that would increase funding for local law enforcement, while Senate Republicans blasted their colleagues for months of soft-on-crime policies which they say led to the surge in crime.
“Crime is surging across this country,” Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, told reporters at a GOP event. “Last year, 12 major American cities broke records for homicide rates. What do those 12 cities have in common? Every single one of them is run by Democrats. All of them.”
Republicans chiding Democrats over crime comes as little surprise in Washington. But after months of calls by Democrats to defund the police, some within the Democratic Party are showing signs of worry that the message might stick with voters.
While Republicans were blasting them over lawlessness across the U.S., several House Democrats gathered at the Capitol to show off their tough-on-crime bonafides.
Flanked by leaders in the policing community, including Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison; Patrick Yoes, president of the Fraternal Order of Police; and Dwayne Crawford of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Democrats touted legislation aimed at boosting funding for local police and distanced themselves from the more radical flank of their party. --->READ MORE HERE
Rising crime in the months leading up to the November midterm elections, combined with President Joe Biden's low marks on public safety by voters, are threatening Democrats’ efforts to maintain their congressional majorities.
The murder rate in the United States rose 30% between 2019 and 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Pew Research Center analysis of the data said the jump was the largest single-year increase since at least 1905.
Homicides continued to climb in 2021 but at a slower pace, according to a recent analysis of crime trends by the Council on Criminal Justice's Violent Crime Working Group, growing by 5%. And at least 12 major U.S. cities broke annual homicide records in 2021, including Philadelphia, which saw its own highest murder rate since 1990.
In a January press release, University of Missouri – St. Louis Professor Emeritus Richard Rosenfeld, a co-author of the CCJ study, said, “The elevated rates of homicide and serious assaults require an urgent response from elected leaders.”
“A year ago, we concluded our 2020 crime report by noting that with so many lives at stake, the time to act is now. That message is as vital today as it was then.”
It is not yet clear if a desire for action on crime will ultimately be one of the issues driving voters to the polls in November, but some Republicans appear to hope so.
The sitting president's party historically loses congressional seats in a midterm election, and the trend seems likely to hold this year due to Biden’s dropping approval ratings. Limited to the issue of crime, just 36% approve of Biden's job performance, according to a December ABC/Ipsos poll. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories:
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The Left Doesn’t Just Want More Criminals On The Streets. It Also Wants Police To Be Scared Of Doing Their Jobs
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