Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed during the second night of the Democratic National Convention that only the Democratic Party is capable of fighting systemic racism within law enforcement. To call this assertion hypocritical is an understatement.
It was the Democratic Party, led by Schumer in the Senate, that blocked all debate over a police reform bill introduced by Sen. Tim Scott and other Senate Republicans back in June. The bill would have at least kick-started an important conversation about what Congress can do to address very real problems plaguing our criminal justice and law enforcement systems. But Schumer deflected, arguing that the conversation wasn’t worth having since the bill Scott introduced didn’t go far enough.
Even if Democrats objected to the bill’s narrow scope, they could have at least agreed that it was a step in the right direction. Indeed, almost everyone can agree that the contents of the bill were long overdue. If it had passed, the bill would have required additional disclosures about the use of force by police officers, codified reporting requirements when “no-knock warrants” are used, provided incentives for police departments that ban forceful maneuvers such as chokeholds, and made lynching a federal crime.
To be sure, Scott’s bill could have gone further. Republicans likely would have agreed to add additional provisions had Schumer been willing to take up the bill on the Senate floor. But instead of engaging in thoughtful debate, the Democrats killed Scott’s bill and the hope for immediate law enforcement reform along with it.
Democrats had the opportunity to reform law enforcement. Both parties did. But in the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” only one party chose to turn up its nose when the solution offered didn’t meet its demands, and Schumer is to blame.
