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(carlballou/Getty Images)Progressives who arent alarmed that reporters are dodging bullets at the George Floyd memorial are tempting political fate.

On the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, dozens of gunshots rang out in the middle of the day at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, forcing reporters and bystanders to duck and cover.

The symbolism was unmistakable the yearlong bout of protest after Floyds killing has coincided with a surge of urban crime that has made gunplay dismayingly common.

Indeed, the intersection where Floyd was killed, now a memorial blocked to vehicular traffic, has become a watchword for mayhem.

The issue of public safety may be about to play its most significant role in our politics since the mid-1990s, the beginning of a decades-long decline in crime that steadily eroded its political salience.

Donald Trump tried to make law and order a defining issue in 2020, but the rioting he so forcefully denounced was, in most places, too transitory to become an overwhelming issue.

Now, more than a year into a serious crime wave, Democrats are fooling themselves if they think they wont be blamed for rising violence in Democratic-run cities.

Overall, murder increased by more than 25 percent in the United States last year, the biggest jump in 60 years. Surely, the dislocations of the pandemic have been a factor, but its also obvious that anti-police agitation has put the cops on their back feet. Exhibit A is Minneapolis.

In the fevered aftermath of the Floyd killing, the city council pledged to do away with the police department, among the most outlandishly unachievable and self-destructive promises ever made by an elected body. Of course, it couldnt follow through on it any more than it could have followed through on a promise to eliminate traffic lights or municipal snow removal.

Still, cops have fled the force while crime has soared. The impeccably progressive mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, who desperately wanted to ingratiate himself at a tribunal-like anti-police rally last summer, but, to his credit, wouldnt commit to defunding the police, now occasionally sounds like hes channeling Rudy Giuliani circa 1993.

Another dyed-in-the-wool progressive, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, faced with ongoing unrest that once was blamed on Trump, has called for the citys residents to take the city back and for unmasking, arresting, and prosecuting rioters.

Los Angeles cut its police budget by 8 percent in the wake of the Floyd protests and now is adding it right back. In South Los Angeles, the LAPD is increasing patrols and vehicle stops to search for guns and gang members.

Irving Kristol famously said a neoconservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. If progressive politicians who are now sounding friendlier to the police havent been mugged, they at least have been alarmed by the sound of approaching gunfire.

The turnabout isnt universal. White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked the other day whether theres a crime problem and, sounding as evasive as when she discusses the border, would say only that there is a guns problem. This was a reference to the completely unconvincing argument that increased gun sales have led to the spike in crime when surges in gun sales since the mid-1990s never before led to higher crime.

The problem that Democrats have is that they have accepted and celebrated the people making a comprehensive case against the police as systematically racist.

This argument doesnt naturally allow for nuance. In fact, it logically entails calling for fewer cops and less police funding, an agenda that will be hard to sell to most people in the best of circumstances but is toxic in an environment of rising crime.

Black Lives Matter has already been losing support in the polls, while trust in the police has been rising. Things would have to get much worse for crime to become as central an issue as it was in the 1970s. But Democrats who arent alarmed that reporters are dodging bullets at the George Floyd memorial are tempting political fate.

2021 by King Features Syndicate

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Yes, Democrats Should Fear the Crime Wave - National Review

Democrats are working to rebuild a state-level political juggernaut ahead of next years midterms as they look to head off a potential electoral thrashing in 2022.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its state counterparts recently struck an agreement that party officials say could prove transformative to both their short- and long-term political prospects by providing much-needed financial aid to struggling state parties after a particularly difficult decade.

The deal, which was hashed out over weeks of negotiations and has buy-in from the White House, comes as Democrats prepare for what is expected to be a difficult election cycle. They are defending ultra-narrow majorities in the House and Senate, while grappling with the fact that the party of a new president typically loses ground in the midterm elections.

This is my prediction: I do think that that means we will pick up seats in 2022 with these early investments in state party infrastructure, Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said.

This says every state matters, were going to campaign everywhere, and were going to be smart with additional resources, she added. It is a major shift from how things have been, and its not what the Republican Party is doing. The Republican Party is centering on one person and one race.

The $23 million agreement provides most state Democratic parties with $12,500 each month in funding from the DNC, up from about $10,000. Eighteen parties in states where Republicans hold the reins of power will receive additional funding for a total of $15,000 per month from the DNC.

The deal also reestablishes the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that will allow the partys biggest donors to give up to $875,000 apiece to a fund that will be split among the parties.

The agreement struck between the DNC and the state parties is good for at least the next four years, and party officials acknowledge that it wont lead to sweeping change overnight.

But there is also a sense of urgency to the effort, especially given the spate of down-ballot losses suffered by Democrats last year.

Republicans need to pick up only about half a dozen seats in the House and just one in the Senate next year to recapture their congressional majorities. At the same time, a handful of House Democrats have announced plans to either retire or run for higher office, leaving several competitive seats up for grabs.

The term of this deal is really significant. The DNC is locked into a four-year deal with state parties, said Ken Martin, the chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and president of the Association of State Democratic Committees. Theyre taking a big risk on that. None of us know what the 2022 midterms are going to look like. And of course if we get our butts kicked, raising money could be a big challenge.

While the monthly stipends amount to only about half as much as the $25,000 per month that state parties received from the DNC more than a decade ago under former Chairman Howard Dean, the extra funding marks the latest step in a years-long effort to rehabilitate Democrats party infrastructure that began four years ago under former DNC Chairman Tom PerezThomas PerezClintons top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labors 'wasteful spending and mismanagement at Workers Comp MORE.

The idea, party officials say, is to build out a permanent campaign infrastructure at the grassroots level that gives state leaders more flexibility to organize on their own terms. Kleeb, for instance, said that the additional funding will allow her to hire a digital organizer to oversee online voter registration and outreach efforts.

The DNCs current chief, Jaime HarrisonJaime HarrisonPro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood causes headache for GOP in key S.C. race DNC announces funding agreement with state parties Democrats fundraise off of vote to remove Cheney from GOP leadership MORE, himself a former South Carolina Democratic Party chair, has pledged to bolster Democrats state-level political infrastructure. The effort also has the backing of the White House, and President BidenJoe BidenBiden's quiet diplomacy under pressure as Israel-Hamas fighting intensifies Overnight Defense: Administration approves 5M arms sale to Israel | Biden backs ceasefire in call with Netanyahu | Military sexual assault reform push reaches turning point CDC mask update sparks confusion, opposition MOREs deputy chief of staff, Jen OMalley Dillon, is said to be in regular contact with the DNC.

President Biden has been so supportive of this, as has Jen OMalley Dillon, Martin said.

Biden has fused his political operation with the DNC, something that Martin said has not been done since former President Clinton was in the White House.

Bidens immediate Democratic predecessor, former President Obama, largely shunned the partys institutional structure during his time in office, opting instead to lean on a network of outside groups, like Organizing for Action, to advance his political goals. Under that model, however, the DNC and state parties struggled, current and former officials said.

When President Obama came into the White House, they had a much different vision on how to build infrastructure, Martin said. The White House decided at the time that they were going to build the infrastructure on the outside.

That was a really challenging time for the Democratic Party. We saw a lot of losses because of that, he added. Probably one of the worst periods for our party, at least in modern history, in modern memory.

While Obama remains a highly influential figure among Democrats, many are quick to recall the political setbacks that occurred during his presidency.

The 2010 midterms saw Republicans gain 63 seats in the House and consequently the majority in the lower chamber. In 2014, Democrats Senate majority evaporated as the GOP picked up nine seats. By the time former President TrumpDonald TrumpGOP-led Maricopa County board decries election recount a 'sham' Analysis: Arpaio immigration patrol lawsuit to cost Arizona county at least 2 million Conservatives launch 'anti-cancel culture' advocacy organization MORE took office in 2017, Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress and 31 governors mansions, up from 21 when Obama was inaugurated in 2009.

One longtime DNC member complained that Obamas political operation often sought to help select candidates at the expense of other down-ballot Democrats and the traditional party structure, and praised the current effort to bolster the DNC and state parties.

We all learned the lesson from the Obama years where we had a strong president who was able to do transformative politics at the national level. But if you didnt hit that cool kids list, you were screwed, one longtime DNC member said.

Theyre not going to let us make the same mistakes and get into this territory Im going to only help candidates who I connect with attitude.

Another DNC member said that the failure to invest in the DNC and state parties left Democrats with a dearth of experienced campaign workers as many former staffers moved on to other jobs.

What we were left with was this void of a generation of campaign staff, the member said. The campaign staffers that were trained well in the early 2000s were now in the White House or in Congress.

Democratic leaders say they have learned from past mistakes. In addition to the agreement struck between the national party and state parties, Harrison has pledged a more active role for the DNC in the midterms and has so far committed $20 million to rebuilding the partys so-called 50-state strategy ahead of the 2022 elections.

If we really want to be a national party that competes in every zip code, we need to acknowledge that Rome wasnt built in a day. The success in Arizona and Georgia didnt happen overnight, Martin said, pointing to two long-time Republican strongholds where Democrats scored key victories last year.

Its an acknowledgment that if we want to see the next Arizona and Georgia, we need to make the investments.

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Democrats look to rebuild party structure with midterms in mind | TheHill - The Hill

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. The last time Florida Democrats held the governors mansion was in the late 1990s. The last time Florida Democrats won a U.S. Senate race was in 2012.

With two marquee statewide races on the ballot in 2022, Florida Democrats are looking to reverse their fortunes.

Its a real strategy question for the Democrats, says UCF political science professor Dr. John Hanley.

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Hanley notes that Democrats are facing congressional redistricting, when the state will add a Congressional District and redraw district lines. Republicans control the legislature, and while the Florida constitution calls for fair districts, Democrats are aware that districts will change and may tilt more Republican in 2022.

Its unclear how those seats will be affected, the Crist seat, the Murphy seat the Demings seat because Republicans control redistricting, says Hanley.

Already, former Republican Governor, and current Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist has announced a run for Governor. Meanwhile Congresswoman Val Demings is expected to jump in the U.S. Senate race to face Marco Rubio. In addition, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy has not announced her plans and could jump into the Senate race as well.

READ: Val Demings plans to challenge Marco Rubio in Florida Senate race

Im not sure about Demings district but you could say that about Murphy, says political consultant Jacob Perry. There are only so many places you can draw the lines, Im looking at population of the state its obviously in central Florida.

For Florida Democrats the race ahead will not just be difficult, itll be costly. Rubio is a proven fundraiser and DeSantis has already started amassing a large campaign reelection fund.

It is going to cost $30 million or more to be competitive in this race and that is a tough nut to crack, says Perry.

READ: COVID-19 updates: Florida reports 2,800 new coronavirus cases, 97 more deaths

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Democratic options in 2022 run through I-4 - WFTV Orlando

Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) speaks about the Senate Intelligence Committee findings and recommendations on threats to election infrastructure on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Democratic U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for policies to accelerate the widespread electrification of the economy and slash the use of fossil fuels.

The move comes as congressional Democrats are seeking to advance President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan to build out clean energy and combat climate change. The plan has faced resistance from Republicans over the price tag, scope and funding.

Heinrich's non-binding Electrifying America's Future resolution includes calls for electrifying polluting sectors like construction and transportation, expanding interregional transmission capacity, boosting financing for electric technologies and modernizing building codes to encourage adoption of electric appliances.

"This must be informing our decisions about infrastructure," Heinrich said at a press conference to unveil the resolution.

Electrifying infrastructure would deploy existing, proven technologies and create millions of good-paying union jobs, he said.

Proponents of switching high-emitting industries to run on electricity want buildings, vehicles and machinery to be powered by an emissions-free grid rather than oil or natural gas. The fossil fuel industry says many emerging electric technologies are simply unaffordable.

The aim of policies focused on electrification, Heinrich said, is to make sure that appliances like heat pump water heaters, which run on electricity, are widely available to businesses and consumers.

"If you don't have the heat pump water heater on the back of the truck it's not going in the house," he said. "We need to figure out all of these friction points and use the jobs and infrastructure package to solve these friction points."

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. Democrat unveils resolution to electrify the economy - Reuters

Donald Trump personality cult, Trumpian scourge, Trumpian clone and big lie about the 2020 elections are hereby rejected as affronts to those of us graced with intelligence and common sense. Froma Harrop (Liz Cheney is not going to the 'political wilderness," May 14) and her fellow Democrats and media attacking President Trump and most of us with a conscious just dont seem to get this notion that our Preamble is worthy of any consideration. We engaged toward peace, freedom and prosperity not only here, but also abroad. Does this make us and our children idiots needing a mind gut?

Why are they angry? What do they fear? Why are they taking us into the abyss while at the same time willfully allowing national and international threats? We clearly see division while President Biden promised unity. We also see lust for power in the Democrats For the People Act and other efforts that strengthen our enemies and weakens our resolve to serve with love as one nation under God.

Instead of bringing our republic together, Liz Cheney made it her personal mission to ensure that those of us who believe in fundamental principles like Trump are tempered to subjection and submission. Right here is where we stand and resort to arguments contained in our Declaration of Independence; thats quite enough, thank you.

Trump may not have been an A student of Dale Carnegies How to Win Friends and Influence People while being attacked 24/7/365 by our domestic enemies. This we may mutually agree. Yet his principled accomplishments that benefited everyone will not be erased from the jurys memory. The midterms should effectively respond to such unconscionable cockamamie and restore our resolve to God and the Constitution.

Freedom comes with a price. Shes burdened with responsibility and accountability, whatever it takes.

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Why are Democrats angry and what do they fear? - Maryville Daily Times