Democrats speak out, crime edition

Some Democrats are catching on that the issue of crime is hurting them. As a result, they're starting to speak out on the issue. They haven't figured out how to do that but they're trying. Byron York empathizes with these Democrats.

In yesterday's Daily Memo, York reports "The short version is that Democrats are beginning to understand that the ugly anti-police actions and rhetoric some of them engaged in after the death of George Floyd last year helped cause an increase in violent crime, an increase in suffering, an increase in fear -- and now, political blowback. But here's the kicker: Some of those very same Democrats who get the message are afraid to talk about it in public."

York continues "'Many of the centrist Democrats representing these districts were reluctant to discuss the issue this week,' the Post continued, 'underscoring that it has not been favorable terrain for the party in recent years. One centrist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said fellow Democrats must not shy away from talking about rising crime and challenges facing police.'"

Cedric Richmond insists that Republicans defunded police:

Richmond must think we're idiots. Did Republicans vote to trim $1,000,000,000 from the NYPD budget, then send that money to Bill de Blasio's wife? When Los Angeles cut $150,000,000 from the LAPD budget, was I imagining Kamala Harris praising that decision? I triple-dog dare Richmond to name an instance when Republicans proposed cutting police funding.

When the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to dismantle their police department, there wasn't a single Republican on the Council. When Portland, Seattle and St. Louis cut police funding, it wasn't Republicans leading the charge for defunding.

This looks like a Democrat calling for dismantling the police:

The Democrats' spin is disgusting. At this point, Democrats can't be trusted. Democrats can't be trusted on crime because they're a house divided.