Even House Democrats admit attacks by Republicans painting them as anti-police were effective in 2020. Now, Republicans are redoubling that tactic ahead of 2022, when a House majority is within striking distance.
The House Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, on Monday released a new slate of ads targeting Democratic Reps. Cindy Axne of Iowa, Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, Jared Golden of Maine, and Ron Kind of Wisconsin. The spots accuse the Democratic incumbents of “failing to stand up to their party’s efforts to defund the police.”
DEMOCRATS TRY TO STEER CLEAR OF ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ MESSAGING FOR NOW
Many Democrats have steered clear from explicitly saying they support efforts to “defund” local police departments. Still, they find themselves in precarious positions when Democratic lawmakers such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan make statements about the need to “abolish prisons” as well as for “no more policing.”
The television ads use the statements from the most extreme Democratic figures to scrutinize the Democratic House lawmakers, each of whom represent a district former President Donald Trump won in 2020.
“Defund the police? Abolish prisons? Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in Congress have lost their minds,” a female voice-over in the ad says. “And now, they’re calling for violence. Call [Democratic representative] and tell [him/her] to stand up to Democrats’ attacks on law enforcement.”
The ads were released in the wake of the decision to convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on murder and manslaughter charges.
“We are going to ensure every voter knows Democrats want to Defund the Police. Whether it’s Rashida Tlaib demanding an end to policing and incarceration, or Maxine Waters encouraging rioters to engage in violence, Democrats can’t be trusted to stand with law enforcement and keep Americans safe,” NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams said in a statement.
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The ads come as President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill focus on passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds, prohibit no-knock warrants, and create a national registry of police misconduct. Democrats argue they do not support a “defund the police” effort despite Republicans’ best efforts to portray them that way.
“There may be some Democrats who use the term ‘defund the police’ without a clear explanation for what it means, and that is hurtful to our cause because our nation was founded on the principles of domestic tranquility and rule of law,” Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, told the Washington Examiner. “So, we cannot do away with the law enforcement function, which is what the Republicans would have us believe ‘defund the police’ means.”
