Democrats are still in support of soft-on-crime laws and policies

March 7, 2023

The Left’s movement toward soft-on-crime policies and laws continues. And this time the foolishness occurred in the Nation’s Capital. 

As reported by the New York Post, the District of Columbia Council “passed its Revised Criminal Code Act over Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto [recently], a late but very welcome Christmas present for offenders ranging from petty crooks to carjackers and rapists. The new law guts mandatory-minimum sentencing and eliminates ‘three strikes’ provisions. Repeat offenders will have a lot less jail time to worry about from now on.”

In addition to the DC Mayor, this law drew a lot of negative comment. Among the critics was House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky) who delivered remarks on the House floor in support of House Joint Resolution 26, which disapproves of the District of Columbia’s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022.

“There is a crime crisis in Americans’ capital city,” he began. “According to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, carjackings in the District have increased by 76 percent compared to this time last year. Total property crime is up 24 percent. And homicides are up 17 percent. In fact, D.C. is currently on track to have the most homicides since 1995,” Comer said.

“But the radical D.C. Council has enacted legislation that will turn this crime crisis into a catastrophe. The D.C. Council’s progressive soft-on-crime legislation eliminates almost all of the mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for violent crimes while drastically reducing the maximum penalties allowable to the courts.

“These changes embolden criminals to run rampant throughout the District of Columbia. The Act also grants the right to jury trial to now include most misdemeanor offenses,” which he said would “overload an already crowded D.C. court system.”

“All Americans should feel safe in their capital city. But they don’t because of D.C. Democrats’ leniency toward criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety,” the Chairman said.

Commenting on sex criminals getting out of jail after serving only part of their sentences, Denise Krepp, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, told local station WUSA9 that, “I don’t think the DC Council should be helping rapists get out of prison early. It’s crazy.”

However, in a surprise move, President Joe Biden agreed with the Republican-led House and the DC Mayor, and disagreed with the DC Council and Democrats in Congress.

As reported by CNN, Biden’s position against the Council’s law “set off howls of objections from progressives and DC residents, who said the president is letting Congress step on the ability of Washington’s citizens to govern themselves.”

“Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, is ‘deeply disappointed’ in Biden’s decision,” the CNN story said.

“This is simple: the District of Columbia must be allowed to govern itself. Democrats’ commitment to home rule should apply regardless of the substance of the local legislation,” Jayapal said in a statement to the network. “This is why the Congressional Progressive Caucus and its members have endorsed D.C. statehood, with every CPC member cosponsoring D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill in the 117th Congress. Statehood is the only way to protect the 700,000 residents of the District from this kind of interference, we will continue to champion this cause.”

In response to criticism from Jayapal and others, Biden tweeted: “I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule – but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings. If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.”

In addition to easing up on criminals and criminal activity, the Democrats are yet again trying to make changes in the country’s fundamental structure. Packing the Supreme Court, doing away with the Electoral College, and bringing more liberal areas into the country as states are all on the list of how to gain permanent power over the country.

The District of Columbia is not a state for a reason. A good reason. As History.com explains, “The U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17) instructed that the seat of government be a ‘District (not exceeding ten miles square)’ over which Congress would ‘exercise exclusive legislation.’ James Madison spelled out the reason for the arrangement, explaining that maintaining an isolated district would prevent any state from holding too much power by being home to the national government.”

The situation in the District of Columbia is not new. So, if residents feel that strongly about governing themselves, they are free to move to a city in a state where that is the way things are done. There are places not far from DC where that situation exists.

But Madison’s very sensible and non-partisan strategy is getting in the way of the Democrat’s plan to rule forever.

By way of its design, our government works for the people, not the other way around. The people elect the President, Vice President and members of the Congress, and their taxes pay government employees. The Constitution guides the government and its elected and non-elected employees on how the country must be operated.

This system has worked with little alteration for over two hundred years. Democrats should leave it alone and learn to live within the existing system, the freest and most sensible system ever.