GOP blames Dems for crime but murder rates far higher in red states

[Nevilledog]

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Jim Kessler
@ThirdWayKessler
Red states have a murder problem with homicide rates 40% higher than blue states. @IgorDerysh reports on the magic trick where Republicans tough on crime rhetoric masks their actual record.

salon.com
GOP blames Dems for crime but murder rates far higher in red states
Eight of the 10 states with the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for Donald Trump.
7:03 AM · Mar 23, 2022

https://www.salon.com/2022/03/16/democrats-for--but-new-data-shows-higher-rates-in-red-states/

Republicans have repeatedly blamed Democratic policies in big cities for a rise in murder rates during the pandemic. In fact, Republican states are reporting much higher homicide rates and some of the highest murder rates are in cities led by Republican mayors, according to data compiled by the centrist think tank Third Way.

Republicans from former President Donald Trump to congressional lawmakers to Fox News talking heads have repeatedly pointed to Democrats' supposed "soft-on-crime" approach, bail reform laws, and "defund the police" rhetoric from left-wing activists for fueling a surge in violent crime. But the Third Way report shows that "murder rates are far higher in Trump-voting red states" and some of the highest murder rates are in cities led by Republicans.

"Republicans seem to do a much better job of talking about stopping crime than stopping crime," Jim Kessler, one of the report's authors, told Axios.

Murder rates were an average of 40% higher in 2020 in the 25 states that Trump carried in the last election, compared to states carried by Biden — and far higher than in "deep blue" states like New York and California, where Republicans have assailed Democratic criminal justice reforms. Instead, the highest murder rates were found in states like Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas — all of which are dominated by Republicans and were won easily by Trump in 2020.

*snip*

[Lovie777]

2. GQP . . .

all they do is blame.

[paleotn]

3. Been that way for a long time.

The correlation anyway. Poverty usually drives violence. I wonder if the poverty is due to the deep red state status or visa versa? Maybe both.

[Kaleva]

4. Conversely, a number of states with low homicide rates voted for TFG

ID, MT, ND, SD, IA, WY, NE, UT, TFG won in 2020 and are amongst the states , according to the CDC, having very low homicide rates.