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Republicans’ “Tough On Crime” Claim Could Cost Democrats the Midterms — and Beyond
Ever notice how many times republicans cite “out-of-control crime rates” in their impassioned jeremiads against Democrats?
It’s more than rhetoric.
When Democrats are in power, republican lawmakers, candidates, and right-wing hate media dust off the tried-and-true greatest hit of “Democrats are coming for your guns,” despite the fact it has never happened nor ever will.
As a result, gun sales spike.
Naturally, then, since “Democrats are coming for your guns,” crime rates must skyrocket.
And, of course, “it’s all Democrats’ fault!”
Well, not really.
Eight of the 10 states with the highest per-capita murder rates voted for Donald Trump.
None of those states have voted Democratic since 1996, two years after former president Bill Clinton signed the controversial federal crime bill responsible for harsher sentences and ballooning mass incarceration.
Recent data from the centrist think tank Third Way reveals republican-led states report significantly higher homicide rates; some of the highest murder rates exist in cities with republican mayors.
