California liberals are finally waking up to the crime nightmare they created, as once-radical Democrats scramble to join Republicans in getting tougher on criminals after watching their cities descend into lawlessness.
At a Glance
● After years of rising crime, some California Democrats are joining Republicans to support tougher criminal justice measures.
● The shift comes after voters recalled progressive district attorneys in San Francisco and Alameda County and passed ballot measures to increase penalties.
● Since California’s Proposition 47 passed in 2014, which weakened penalties for theft, violent crime has reportedly increased 24% and shoplifting by 36%.
● Despite the shift, some progressives are still pushing for radical new bills, including one that could grant parole to murderers.
A “Progressive” Crime Wave Finally Hits Home
The leftist utopia that California Democrats promised has delivered a nightmare of rampant crime, brazen retail theft, and unsafe streets. The disastrous social experiment began in earnest with 2014’s Proposition 47, which reclassified numerous felonies as misdemeanors and effectively legalized shoplifting of anything under $950.
The results were predictable: violent crime has since skyrocketed by 24%, and shoplifting has surged by an astounding 36%.
After years of living with the consequences, voters have finally had enough. In deep-blue progressive strongholds like San Francisco and Alameda County, voters have successfully recalled their radical, soft-on-crime district attorneys who seemed more interested in protecting criminals than victims.
Republicans Lead as Democrats Play Catch-Up
The political winds on crime have shifted so dramatically that even some Democrats are being forced to abandon their radical “defund the police” rhetoric and join Republicans in supporting common-sense public safety measures. Republican State Senator Brian Jones recently saw his bill to block convicted sex offenders from receiving early parole receive unanimous approval from the Senate Public Safety Committee—a bipartisan result he admits would have been unthinkable just a year ago.
“The smart Democrats are getting it. The voters spoke overwhelmingly,” Jones told LAist. Even
the committee’s Democratic chair, Senator Jesse Arreguín, acknowledged the new reality,
admitting he was given direction to provide “more balance” on criminal justice
policy—politician-speak for “our radical policies are costing us elections.”
The Left Still Doesn’t Fully Get It
But while some Democrats are begrudgingly moving to the center out of political necessity, the party’s progressive wing continues to push a radical agenda that defies common sense.
This kind of thinking shows that while some Democrats may be strategically adjusting their public positions, many still cling to a fundamentally flawed ideology that prioritizes the comfort of criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens.
The political shift on crime represents a massive opportunity for Republicans in a state that has long been written off as a lost cause. As more and more Californians experience the real-world consequences of leftist criminal justice “reforms,” the GOP has a chance to win them over with a simple, powerful message: public safety matters.