The Memo: Some Democrats worry rising crime will cost them
By Niall Stanage - 06/22/21 12:17 PM EDT
President Biden will address rising crime rates at the White House on Wednesday — an acknowledgement that the issue has become too hot to ignore for his party ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Democrats have long been vulnerable to the charge that they are “soft on crime.” Republicans and their media allies are already making the case, having struggled to get traction against Biden on other issues.
“If you’re law enforcement, you’re going to be very cautious about doing your job when you see that the Democrats are never going to back you up,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told The Washington Post in a story published Monday.
Crime “could be the issue that, frankly, makes it impossible for Democrats to hold on to the House next year,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic consultant.
Sheinkopf argued that too many on the left “don’t understand that crime and disorder are unacceptable to the entire population. People will lie to pollsters and go into the voting booth and vote for the person they think is going to protect them.”
The abruptness with which crime has returned to a central role in political debate is striking.
Violent crime rates fell for years after the crack epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s faded. Senior law enforcement officers like Bill Bratton, who served stints as police chief in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, accrued near-celebrity status. Crime became less politically salient, too.
Now, things have changed.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/559602-the-memo-some-democrats-worry-rising-crime-will-cost-them
