President Biden’s Flip-Flop on D.C. Crime Bill is Too Little, Too Late
‘Democrats are not getting off the hook this easy. They are not going to be able to duck the heat for the violent crime surge to which their policies, their rhetoric, and their political movement have directly contributed… [N]obody will confuse Washington Democrats’ last-minute reversal on this one resolution for a ‘road to Damascus moment’ on the crime issue. The American people are smarter than that.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding law and order:
“A man stabbed to death in a public library.
“A woman kidnapped and mugged in broad daylight.
“A construction worker assaulted by suspects who fled in a stolen car.
“That’s just a small sampling of life in Washington D.C. in recent months.
“Carjackings and car thefts have become a daily routine. Homicides are racking up at a rate of four per week.
“There have been so many attacks on people riding public transportation that civilian volunteers have had to create their own patrols of Metro trains and platforms.
“We are the greatest superpower nation in history. This is our capital city. But local politicians have let its streets become a danger and an embarrassment.
“Earlier this year, local Democrats tried to respond by going even softer on crime and putting violent convicts back on the streets even more rapidly.
“Republicans say enough is enough. We’ve brought forward a resolution here in Congress that will overrule the left’s effort to make this catastrophe even worse.
“Democrats were not happy. The White House put out a formal statement opposing us. The vast majority of House Democrats voted against us.
“But then President Biden reversed himself.
“The public pressure was so great that the President now says he wants to sign the same Republican bill that he’d previously announced he opposed.
“The headlines tell the story. ‘Biden’s About-Face on D.C. Crime Bill Shows Democrats on the Defensive.’
“The Democrats’ flip-flop is good news for the residents of D.C. and the 300-plus-million Americans who deserve to be able to visit their nation’s capital in peace.
“But Democrats are not getting off the hook this easy.
“They are not going to be able to duck the heat for the violent crime surge to which their policies, their rhetoric, and their political movement have directly contributed.
“What about all the Americans who live in cities and neighborhoods across the country besides Washington?
“In my hometown of Louisville, violent crime has become an unwelcome daily fixture.
“Since the start of the pandemic, over 500 lives have been lost to homicide. Dozens of the victims have been children. And last fall, a car was stolen on average every 2.5 hours.
“Minneapolis has seen 19% more vandalism than at this point last year. San Francisco has seen 18% more robberies. In Chicago, this year’s rate of car theft is already 138% higher than last year’s. In St. Louis, kidnappings are up 113%.
“Over the weekend, in Atlanta, dozens of rioters attacked and laid siege to the site of the city’s future Public Safety Training Center. These people lit construction equipment on fire and aimed fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police officers. Twenty-three of these radical leftists have been charged with domestic terrorism.
“This is what happens when the political left spends years spotlighting anti-law-enforcement rhetoric.
“This is what happens when Democrats at all levels decide we need fewer arrests, shorter sentences, and more generosity to criminals at the expense of less justice for victims and families.
“This is what happens when far-left dark money flows to radical candidates for district attorney’s offices, and the liberal D.A.s simply refuse to prosecute whole sections of the criminal code.
“This is what happens after every single Senate Democrat voted on party lines against additional police funding last year.
“Every Democratic Senator voted in lock-step against Senator Rubio’s amendment that would have redirected some of their massive, reckless taxing and spending spree to fund law enforcement.
“So nobody will confuse Washington Democrats’ last-minute reversal on this one resolution for a ‘road to Damascus moment’ on the crime issue.
“The American people are smarter than that.”
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Related Issues: Senate Democrats, Crime
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