Another City "Defunds" the Police, and Dems are Blaming... Republicans?

Posted by 161sc on June 29, 2021

As crime surges in the Democrat-run cities of America, another city has voted to slash a proposed budget for its police force. Last week, the Oakland City Council voted to divert millions of dollars away from the city's police department despite the recent rise in crime:

The Oakland, California, police chief spoke out on Monday against city leaders after they voted to divert nearly $20 million from law enforcement amid an alarming spike in crime.

Last Thursday, council members voted 6-2 to remove $18.5 million from a proposed increase to the Oakland Police Department's budget. The law enforcement body will have $674 million to spend, compared to $665 million the previous year, though the increase is markedly less than the proposed $27 million spearheaded by Mayor Libby Schaaf, a Democrat. Last year's police funding accounted for 20% of the city's budget, while this year's makes up 18%.

“I’m challenged by the decisions that were made on Thursday around the budget for the city of Oakland, particularly for the Oakland Police Department,” Chief LeRonne Armstrong said in a news conference.

“We see clearly that crime is out of control in the city of Oakland, and our response was for less police resources ... when City Council members — the majority of them have voted to defund this Police Department. That additional $17 million will have an impact," he added.

One professor has labeled the nationwide increase in crime over the last year as the "Minneapolis effect":

On top of its other tragedies, 2020 saw the biggest surge in violent crime in decades. Homicides rose a projected 25% to 30%, to over 20,000 dead. The FBI reports a precipitous increase in violent crime overall, with other sources saying shootings rose in particular.

Commentators have floated numerous explanations: COVID, lockdowns, the recession, drugs, gun sales. But they often don’t acknowledge a role for the wave of anti-police protests that swept the country last summer following the killing of George Floyd, and the agitation to “defund the police” still gripping many cities. Law professor Paul Cassell dubbed this connection the “Minneapolis effect,” paralleling the “Ferguson effect” that linked 2014’s anti-police protests with a spike in homicides. This time around, the protests and policy response were magnified a hundredfold as activists pushed and municipal leaders considered “defunding” police departments altogether.

Admitting the existence of a “Minneapolis effect” is, unsurprisingly, unpopular with supporters of the protests, including many in the media. But it is hard to explain the past year’s violence without it. If nothing else, it’s common sense: When thousands of people told police they weren’t wanted, both officers and criminals listened, and violence followed.

The flames of the "Minneapolis effect" have been fanned by Democrat politicians who continually advocate for various degrees of "defunding" the police.

After all of this, Democrats are now making the bizarre assertion that the real "defund the police" crowd is... Republicans? 

The Daily Caller notes:

[A]ccording to Democrats, Republicans de facto supported defunding the police because they didn’t vote for Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief plan.

White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond made the point earlier on Wallace’s program in which he appeared to blame Republicans for increases in violent crime as well as efforts to defund the police.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also floated the idea in the White House press briefing on June 23, later doubling down on the claim Monday, along with White House rapid response director Mike Gwin, and several Democrats on Capitol Hill.

The statements made by White House officials are especially laughable. The Biden Administration literally nominated two defund the police advocates to the Department of Justice.

The Democrats' irresponsible rhetoric about law enforcement has real consequences for everyday Americans. They may try to backtrack on their support for defunding the police, but that won't be easy considering all Democrats have said in the last year to appeal to their far-left base. Besides, the ones who control Democratic Party leadership – the radical liberal activists on the party's fringes – would never let them.

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