Republicans should nationalize California crime crisis to defeat Democrats in November

The future of California looks grim if nothing changes. Just take a walk down city streets or visit any businesses if you don’t believe me – our communities are descending into lawlessness. Last year, California’s homicide rate jumped 9.1% from the year before, marking the state’s deadliest year since 2007. 

It wasn’t just homicides. According to vulnerable Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta’s annual Crime in California report, violent crime, property crime, rape and motor vehicle theft rates were all up in 2021. So, what decreased? The total number of arrests fell by more than 7%. 

It’s no wonder residents are leaving our state. In the span of a few days this summer, a NASCAR driver was stabbed to death by a homeless man, a Buena Park amusement park closed early due to repeated violence, and Starbucks closed several stores, deeming them "unsafe to continue to operate." Californians must remain vigilant to simply get through the day.   

CALIFORNIA MAN ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL FOR KILLING TWO TEENAGERS IN A MOVIE THEATER

Sadly, California has become the national poster child for crime and chaos. But Democrat-run cities across the country are reeling from soft-on-crime policies, too. Last year, 12 Democrat-run cities saw record homicides rates. This year, six cities – including Los Angeles – are on pace to exceed the massive levels of violent crime they saw last year. Catalytic converter thefts were up 33 percent nationwide. 

What, then, is the common thread – between California and nationwide crime? Soft-on-crime policies pushed by radical Democrats like defunding the police, downgrading sentences, weakened bail policies, and outright forgoing prosecutions are responsible. And don’t take it from me. Take it from our law enforcement. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney blamed "bad law and bad policy." Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook blamed Los Angeles’ woke bail reform laws.  

In California, we’ve started to see voter frustration turn into action against Democrats’ failing agenda. Crime is a top issue that voters would like to see the state address. San Francisco’s radical District Attorney Chesa Boudin was resoundingly recalled in June after unleashing years of terror by prioritizing the needs of criminals over San Franciscans. While Los Angeles DA George Gascon barely survived facing a similar recall, voters still favored his ousting by 20 points. 

California Democrats own our state’s crime surge. With total control of our statewide offices, supermajorities in our legislature, and woke, radical district attorneys in power, their soft-on-crime policies have been an abject failure, and Californians are ready for change. If left-coast California – ground zero for chaos – can begin to clean up its crime mess, our country can too. 

As Republicans, we must take this critical message to the American people before November. An April Gallup poll shows that worry about crime is at its highest level since 2016. The current crime environment directly results from Democrat incompetence and regressive policies, and we can't let voters forget that. 

Democrats and out-of-touch prosecutors aren’t going to reverse course. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said these folks – like Gascon, Boudin, and radical Democrats – "live in this ‘woke palace’ where they’re not affected by the policies, but the average person IS impacted by them." 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER

Vulnerable congressional Democrats, on the hook in just over two months, act like these are problems they want to fix. Amazingly, many of them – including California’s Katie Porter – have indicated they want to get a vote on record that they support the police. But these elected officials are the ones who caused the crime problems in the first place. Meanwhile, instead of voting to support our police, they voted to fund new, audit-happy IRS agents. 

Why would anyone want to vote for them?  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Move to the East Coast and Democrat John Fetterman, a far-left radical running for senator of Pennsylvania, once said that "I agree with" reducing "our prison population by a third" — and that such a move won’t "make anyone less safe." I ask: how’s that going to make anyone more safe? Maybe to Democrats, it’s not about making Americans safer. It’s about putting criminals first. 

The road to Republican victory, on the crime issue alone, runs straight through California. Remember that and ask Americans to vote like their safety depends on it. Because under Democrats, it does.