A Friday report from The Hill highlighted the purported worries among the Democratic Party about losing the support of suburban voters. In particular, the piece suggested that these worries stem from the current unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which comes after a months-long push from the party to reform law enforcement departments.
“Republicans are very wisely pouncing on this moment and using that language [of defund the police] that emphasizes everything wrong with what progressives do,” said one Senate Democratic aide.
The aide, along with other critics, argued that Democrats’ “defund the police” movement has not been clear in its intentions to focus on reform as opposed to the complete dismantling of law enforcement departments.
“If you were to follow what Republicans have said about this protest movement and these moments, you would think that every single moment of these protests has been defined by violence, and they haven’t been.”
Before the Kenosha protests, recent polls suggested that Joe Biden was leading Donald Trump among key suburban voters, including women. The data came after the president’s attempts to paint Biden as unfit to crack down on the violence around America amid pushback against police brutality. Regardless, Trump used his Republican National Convention speech on Thursday to seize on the opportunity to continue pushing this narrative.
“Make no mistake, if you give power to Joe Biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across America. They will pass federal legislation to reduce law enforcement nationwide. They will make every city look like Democrat-run Portland, Oregon.”
Although Democrats have focused less on the protests and more on the reforms they say underlie the unrest, not everyone is convinced of the strategy. As The Inquisitr reported, columnist George Packer argued on Friday that Biden is failing to properly grapple with the Kenosha shootings. According to Packer, Biden’s alleged complacency could pave the way for Trump to win in November.
Biden has argued that Trump has no intention of curbing the violence he is speaking out against. The former vice president said the president is fueling the flames of social unrest and suggested that the current moment is the result of his lack of leadership.
Still, The Hill reported that Democratic aides are worried about how the riots will play with independent and swing voters. Others, like strategist Morgan Jackson, believe that Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has damaged the Republican Party beyond repair and will prevent them from regaining suburban voter support.
