Democrats’ selective hearing on law and order issues puts everyone at risk

Amid the latest hand-waving around vaccines and variants, we can’t lose sight of the tragedies still playing out in our cities.  

Following their push to defund the police, silence and amnesia have gripped Democrats in the weeks following the Nov. 21 tragedy, when a man intentionally drove his SUV through the Waukesha Christmas Parade. As families and communities came together to celebrate this sacred holiday, this career criminal senselessly released on low bail caused six deaths and no fewer than 62 injuries.   

Easily outraged Democrats have devoted little attention to this intentional attack, as well as the ongoing violence still surging across our nation. Instead, they live in a world in which their watches stopped on Jan. 6, 2021.  

Their outrage is selective, even when it comes to protecting those for whom they profess the most care.   

Even before President Trump was sworn into office, violent protests began, and continued to play out across the country. St. John’s Episcopal Church was set ablaze, and 49 U.S. Park Police officers were injured during protests across from the White House. A St. Louis protest turned deadly when David Dorn, a retired St. Louis police captain, was fatally shot while protecting a local business. Seattle roiled amid violence, with fires, looting, the “CHAZ” autonomous zone and occupation of a police precinct. Lawless protests in Portland have become a lifestyle, marred by violence. “Mostly peaceful” is the false narrative used to describe these deadly upheavals.   

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats remain myopically focused on Jan. 6, which has thus far resulted in several lengthy convictions on the charge of trespassing, and an endless stream of political posturing. They have lost all credibility in addressing the real issues facing communities across America, especially law and order.   

Two weeks prior to plowing his SUV into the Waukesha parade, Darrell Brooks Jr. had been arrested for allegedly running over his girlfriend. Despite this and a 20-year-long rap sheet of violent and sexual offenses, he received the slap on the wrist of a “second-degree reckless endangering of safety” charge and was released on an irresponsibly low $1,000 bail.    

Hypocritical Democrats appear willfully disconnected from the reality of such violence raging in their cities. Their own policies show contempt for the rule of law and jeopardize public safety. In undermining law enforcement’s important role, they ignore the impact of rising crime on families, minority-owned businesses, property values and upward mobility for those working toward a better quality of life.  

Recklessness also exists in the policies that allow those going about their everyday lives to live in mortal danger while criminals are protected. Many continue their promise to defund the police, a movement praised New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib. In Georgia, my Senate opponent preached that some police officers are “gangsters” and “thugs,” and Atlanta, where we have a “no chase” policy, the mayor-elect in 2020 voted to defund the police.   

How has that liberal theory worked so far? Ask Democratic Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot, who proposed stripping $80 million from the police budget last summer. Violent crime there is rising, on already high levels, with some neighborhoods experiencing a 100 percent increase in fatal shootings. Things have gotten so bad that the mayor has now called on federal agents to stem the violence.  

Democrats’ refusal to restore law and order is reaping a grim harvest. Here in Atlanta, 157 murders were reported in 2020, up from 99 in 2019 and the highest number of homicide cases in at least 20 years. Across the nation, the story is much the same. America’s homicide rate skyrocketed 30 percent just between 2019 and 2020, representing the largest increase in modern history, with many cities on track to set new records in 2021.  

The narratives of the endless pandemic and the events of Jan. 6 will continue to be used to distract from comprehensive policy and governing failures by Democrats at every level. Their refusal to address the realities of crime, open borders and inflation while Americans are trying to return to normal helps explain why voters will toss them out in the midterm elections. When it comes to standing up for American families and communities, Democrats have not only proven themselves out of step with reality — they have actively worked to undermine public safety.  

Kelly Loeffler served as U.S. senator from Georgia from 2020-2021.