In recent years, Democrats have adopted radical soft-on-crime policies that threaten public safety. Between their prioritizing criminal rights over public safety, bail reform, and making defunding the police a key part of their platform, we’ve seen lots of Democrat-controlled cities and states become cesspools of violent crime.
It’s not going well for them. This issue alone has opened up opportunities for Republican candidates in traditionally Democrat strongholds. Last year, Republican Lee Zeldin came within a few points of defeating incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul in New York state — largely on the issue of crime, which has exploded in the state, particularly in New York City.
Democrats know the issue of crime is a loser for them, and yet, rather than protecting their constituents, they’ve decided the best strategy is to deny that the crime is happening at all.
During an upcoming hearing on New York City’s high crime rate, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, is reportedly planning to deny that crime is a significant issue in the city. While one might assume that Nadler actually believes this to be the case, the truth is likely more politically driven, as the high crime rate in New York City is a reflection of the policies of District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s indictment, Bragg’s “soft-on-crime” approach has come under national scrutiny. Bragg’s tendency to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors contrasts sharply with his handling of the Trump case. Bragg took an alleged misdemeanor campaign finance violation and elevated it to a felony, claiming that Trump had used hush-money payments to conceal a crime. What crime was that? Who knows? Bragg won’t even say; perhaps he doesn’t even know.
According to a report from the New York Post, Nadler accused Chairman Jim Jordan of using the hearing as a distraction from Trump’s indictment.
“We will show the essentially fraudulent nature of what [committee chair] Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and company are claiming about the crime rates in New York and compared to other cities, including Republican-led cities,” Nadler told The Post. “And we will talk about how this whole hearing is part of Jim Jordan and the Republicans’ general attempts to obstruct justice and to attack the DA in Manhattan and to obstruct justice in the Trump case.”
But Nadler’s assessment of New York City’s crime rate as not being a significant issue contradicts the city’s own crime statistics. According to the data, overall violent crime in Manhattan South increased by 34% and in Manhattan North by 14.5% in 2022 — Alvin Bragg’s first year as district attorney.
For Democrats, going after Donald Trump takes precedence over addressing the very real issue of crime in New York City. By denying that crime is a significant problem, they risk ignoring the safety and well-being of the people they were elected to serve.
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