Editor’s note: Miss some of this week’s news, public policy, and politics? Stay current, keep up, and get out ahead of the pack with Liberty Nation’s Sunday News Round-up. Yeehaw!
Who Really Needs Reform?
Both houses of Congress have been working on police reform bills, but they aren’t working together. Senate Republicans pushed a bill that not only addressed many of the complaints about police abuse, but also included a few obvious treats for Democrats to sweeten the deal. Still, they refused to play ball, saying it failed in about 20 different ways. Bill sponsor, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) promised to consider amendments on all 20 points, but their esteemed colleagues from across the aisle refused any discussion. Why?
Liberty Nation’s Graham J. Noble explained:
“Certainly, Sen. Scott dismantled, piece by piece, the Democrats’ objection to the Senate police reform bill and listed how the Republican Party, in the era of Trump, has improved the lot of the black community. He went much further, though. For too long, Republicans have been either too polite or too cowardly to point out what every black conservative in this country knows. Democrats refuse to recognize the efforts of any Republican – regardless of race – to do anything which might make life better for black people …
Senator Scott happens to be a member of the one group of people most despised by Democrats and by the political left in general: black conservatives. Scott is now on the receiving end of so much racial abuse and so many threats that even CNN and other left-wing media outlets are finding the issue hard to ignore. Those threats and slurs are hardly likely to be coming from conservatives, among whom the South Carolina senator is very popular.”
It seems the Democrats are less displeased with the bill itself and more with who came up with it. Perhaps we should take a break from trying to reform the police for a moment and have a look at Congress first.
What to Watch For
Despite the legislative gridlock – whether that stems from the hyper-partisanship of the modern political age or just plain old-fashioned Democrat racism – police reform is the nationwide cause du jour. If the House bill fails as its Senate counterpart did, expect more attempts in the near future.
Just Toss the Whole Thing Out
The good folks in charge of Minneapolis have taken a different tack. Rather than reform their police department, city leaders are trying to toss it out entirely.
Liberty Nation’s Kelli Ballard reported:
“Since the death in Minneapolis, MN, of George Floyd, Defund the police has become 2020’s war cry. It has been heard across the nation, and while the left moves to drastically reduce budgets for law enforcement, the White House fights for police reform. However, when it comes to Minneapolis itself, neither defunding nor reform is good enough: the city council voted 12-0 on June 26 to abolish the police department.”
She went on to point out how serious crime – from burglary to far more violent options – rose 70% in Minneapolis last year. Will the people support the decision to disband the police department?
What to Watch For
As Congress continues to fail to accomplish much more than its usual virtue signaling, the task of police reform will fall to states and municipalities – where it belonged all along. As Sen. Scott pointed out, these cities could have banned chokeholds at any point in the past. Instead, now we have large, Democrat-led cities trying to disband their police entirely rather than make the effort to simply lead them differently. Watch for other cities to follow in the footsteps of Minneapolis – and don’t be surprised when their residents pay the price. Violent crime has risen in cities across the country since the death of George Floyd, and that isn’t going to stop when the police all go home.
Washington Whispers & Other Juicy Tidbits
Be on the lookout for:
Three California police unions have gone on record in support of police reform. That is new, but not entirely unexpected. Unions are political beasts by nature. Don’t be surprised when more unions come out in support of reform, but don’t expect anything beyond virtue signaling. Remember, police unions have been part of the problem all along.
Stay dialed into all the latest news, public policy, and politics affecting your liberty and freedom with Liberty Nation, where we like to say that Truth is Making a Comeback because Facts Matter. Bookmark our page, download our LN News & Commentary App, or sign up to our Daily Briefing.
Check Out Our Gunslingers For Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwpmNTSzdjA
~
Read more at LibertyNation.com
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
