Republicans control Congress and will properly be held to account for the legislation it adopts. If the Republican Party wants to buy responsibility for going softer on crime in the midst of a violent crime wave, that is its choice to make. But it should do so with its eyes open.
Gallup now tells us what we could have been expecting, what with the surge in murder over (at least) the last six months. Its report is aptly titled, "More Americans Say Crime Is Rising in U.S."
Government data on actual crime rates in 2015 will not be released until next year, so it is not possible to know whether Americans' perceptions of rising crime this year reflect what is currently happening in the U.S. In many large cities across the country, violent crime rates have spiked in 2015, suggesting that national crime figures could be on the rise. News reports of this increased violence may account for the uptick in perceived violence in the latest poll.
If Republicans get hectored, bullrushed or hoodwinked into adopting reduced sentences for felons, they will have earned -- and they will get -- the fate of other groups who allow themselves to be hectored, bullrushed or hoodwinked. Tragically, however, it will not be just foolhardy Republicans who pay the price. The most fearsome price will be paid by the hundreds or thousands of additional crime victims.
Leave a comment