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The Slings and Arrows of D.C. Statehood
A D.C. criminal justice reform law has Democrats at odds.
President Joe Biden just can’t catch a break.
Like all moderates, he is frequently caught between constantly warring factions of his party.
Hyper-progressives, long ascendant on the left, haven’t been able to achieve the wide mandate required to achieve their stretch goals over the past few elections. Conservative Democrats, on the other hand, are frequently accused of being unwilling to take drastic measures until it’s too late, as in the case of Roe V. Wade.
Nowhere are the cracks in the Democratic Party more apparent than on the subject of rising crime.
The arguments came to a head last week when President Joe Biden took the rare step of joining with most House Republicans and some House Democrats against a recently passed D.C. bail and sentencing reform bill.
Progressives have since accused Biden of stabbing the movement for D.C. statehood in the back, federal overreach, and worse. While President Biden has long been an advocate for D.C. statehood, in this particular case he seems to feel concerns about rising crime in the district take precedence.
Concerns about crime are understandable.