Does George Soros back defunding police? $1M donation reveals the answer
George Soros is helping to flush America down the drain
Billionaire George Soros has donated $1 million to the racial justice organization Color Of Change PAC, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show. Soros made the donation on May 14 but has only recently come to light. The massive donation also throws up questions about Soros' political beliefs, given Color of Change's goals, which amongst other things include defunding the police.
Following the brutal murders of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020, many activists, groups, and even politicians have been calling for police services to be defunded. However, those calls have often been met with immense backlash. Former President Obama slammed the idea as a "snappy" slogan in December 2020. In August 2020, a former Dallas cop exclusively told MEAWW that such calls would stop only if cops stop "constantly seeing the worst" in people.
Nonetheless, calls to defund the police have only grown over the years. One of the many organizations leading the charge is Color of Change, which has previously received a donation from two-time Olympian Gwen Berry earlier in July. Now, we can confirm Soros too has donated to the PAC. Does that mean Soros supports defund the police?
Soros' stance on defunding police
Like many of his fellow billionaires, Soros has never publicly revealed his stance on political matters. It's unclear if he actually supports defunding the police or not. The only indication we have of Soros' intentions comes from his donations. If we are to judge Soros based entirely on that, it appears he is indeed for the defunding of the police movement. The donation to Color of Change is not his only donation in that regard.
In February 2021, the Minnesota Reformer noted that Soros' Open Society Policy Center donated $500,000 to the Vote Yes 4 Minneapolis group. The group infamously made headlines for a charter amendment that would dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, and replace it with another civil organization under the control of the City Council. He has also been known to fund candidates at both the national, and local levels who have advocated for defunding the police.
In the past, Soros has been linked to everything from Antifa to the Black Lives Matter protests, but never to defunding the police. Yet, it seems like a natural thing for him to do. Over the past few decades, Soros has made a name funding liberal causes, especially around criminal justice reforms and racial equality. In 2016, it was reported he channeled more than $3 million into seven local district-attorney campaigns in six states. All those donations were for African-American and Hispanic candidates, all of whom ran on criminal justice reform platforms.
To be clear, Color of Change doesn't only advocate for defunding the police. The group runs numerous campaigns around racial justice, including reducing online hate crime, corporate repatriations, and supporting Sha'Carri Richardson. However, they are most well known for their defund the police campaign, currently running in New York City. The group has currently hit 161% of its 20,000 signatures on the petition to defund the NYPD, and invest in "social services, public health infrastructure, quality mental health programs, and community-based alternatives to policing."
The news is not likely to help Soros in any way. Throughout 2020, he was targeted by right-wing media and blamed for the violence as a result of the killing of Floyd. He's also currently facing massive backlash after it emerged he paid zero federal income tax for three straight years between 2016 and 2018. On top of that, donating to groups that are calling for police to be defunded is only likely to make him more of a target, as the idea of defunding police departments is not very popular.
__________
Defund what? Most Americans want MORE cops on the street, not less: Poll
Following the Black Lives Matter movement, many activists, liberal groups, and even politicians have now rallied behind a new cry -- defund the police. All over the US, there are numerous efforts to reduce funding for police departments, in favor of mental health, community outreach, and other local programs. It appears though the move isn't as popular as one would expect. According to a poll, 90% of Detriot residents want more cops on the streets, not less.
The defund the police movement has gotten a lot of attention and traction from many activists, and even donors. We recently reported that millionaire George Soros has been actively backing reforms to policing and criminal justice, including a $1 million donation to Color Of Change PAC. On July 2, it was revealed that the group also sponsored Gwen Barry, the Olympic athlete who drew massive controversy after turning her back to the US flag.
Despite being a call commonly associated with Democrats, some of them have turned their back on the idea. In December 2020, former President Barack Obama slammed the idea as a "snappy" slogan. That doesn't appear to have daunted the enthusiasm around the idea though, as it still continues to be widely discussed, and pushed for. Now we know that it may not be as welcome an idea as some suggest, largely thanks to the massive crime wave in the US.
'More cops, not less'
In Detroit, the poll was conducted by USA Today and the Detroit Free Press, along with Suffolk University. Respondents overwhelmingly voted in favor of more cops, and it wasn't even close. About 90% of residents responded they wanted more cops, not less. The city wasn't an exception, but the norm. Similar polls were conducted in other cities and showed similar results. In New York, 70% of respondents wanted more cops after a spree of shootings in the city, particularly Times Square.
In June, a poll by the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago found 79% of residents would feel safer if more cops were on the streets. A nationwide poll by USA Today found that 66% of Americans said violent crime has worsened in the last year and 70 percent of Americans said they wanted police budgets to increase - not decrease. In most cases, the respondents were Democratic, not just Republican, indicating that the issue is of equal concern irrespective of political affiliation.
The Detroit poll though offers the most striking look at just how significant the issue is. Only 4% of respondents called police reform the biggest issue in Detroit, with it ranking last behind education, public safety, affordable housing, Covid-19, jobs, taxes, and race relations. According to the US Census Bureau, 78.3% of Detroit residents are Black, and historically, Democrats have largely controlled the city. The results bust the myth that calls to defund the police are only from the Democrats.
Detroit voters heavily reliant on cops
Despite the stance against the idea, police reform is still a key part of Michigan's agenda. Democrats in Michigan's House of Representatives introduced 16 bills in June to tackle police reforms. They are currently being debated and if passed would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, as well as ending the legal doctrine of qualified immunity. It indicates that the party doesn't appear to be listening to its voters.
Rather than defunding the police, it appears voters want more money to be poured into policing, not just to increase the number of cops, but the quality as well. At least 58% of respondents rated cops as 'mediocre or worse' in the same poll, but 80% indicated they would still turn to them for help if needed. Their fears are well-founded. In 2020, the number of non-fatal shootings and homicides dramatically increased in Detroit, as they have in almost all other major American cities. Currently, cops are already struggling to deal with the massive crime rate, which has only led to more crime.
Defunding the police would mean fewer cops and less trained cops to deal with violent situations. While the call to fund anti-violence programs is commendable, doing so at the cost of police departments could be a mistake many will come to rue. The issue is expected to be one of the key debates at the 2022 mid-terms and could determine the future of the US House of Representatives, as well as the Senate if Dems keep pushing for police to be defunded, against the wishes of voters.
No comments:
Post a Comment