WaPo columnist argues Democrats 'harming the criminal justice movement,' moving in 'wrong direction'
President Biden expressed support for law enforcement during a speech on Tuesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. argued on Wednesday that the Democrats are "harming the criminal justice movement" and "moving in the wrong direction" when it comes to their stance on policing.
"Harming the criminal justice movement to gain advantage in intraparty feuds is petty and counterproductive. But that’s what happening, even if centrist Democrats don’t admit it," Bacon wrote.
He noted multiple instances, such as the recall of Chesa Boudin, in which the left was losing ground in terms of criminal justice reform and said the dynamics in these situations were similar. "Centrist Democrats exaggerating the increase in crime, blaming not only the crime surge but also long-standing problems like homelessness and drug abuse on progressive reforms, and implying their left-wing opponents want to immediately and drastically reduce police spending with no plan to keep people safe," Bacon argued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said centrist Democrats should use a different strategy that wasn't "misleading."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
President Biden spoke to a crowd of supporters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Tuesday about his "Safer America Plan."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president promised stricter gun control and rejected the "defund the police" slogan. He called for more funding for police and ended his speech by calling on voters to support Democrats in the midterm elections.
Bacon said the Democrats' rightward swing towards a more "tough on crime" stance would be "morally defensible" if it was an effort to keep "Trumpian Republicans" from gaining power.
"And despite what you may have heard, no 2020 Democratic candidate lost by running on defunding the police because the few who invoked that slogan campaigned in heavily liberal areas. The idea that significant numbers of voters who would have backed Democratic candidates in 2020 did not do so because they believed those candidates would defund local police departments has always been far-fetched," the Washington Post columnist wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden speaks during a Fourth of July celebration for military families on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Bacon said Biden and other supposed centrist Democrats have "chosen activist-bashing over self-reflection."
"But Democrats are moving in the wrong direction overall. 2020 was just two years ago. They need to honor the promises they made then to overhaul a criminal justice system that they know remains racist, classist, overly punitive and often ineffective in reducing crime," he wrote.
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U.S. President Joe Biden greets people on South Lawn after arriving on Marine One from a trip to Delaware at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2022. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
The president is set to appear in Philadelphia on Thursday for another campaign-style speech, during which he plans to argue that America's democracy is "under attack."
"He will speak about how the core values of this nation — our standing in the world, our democracy — are at stake," a White House official told Fox News. "He will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack."