(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5283700&forum_id=2#45883877)

On March 15, 2022, a left-wing advocacy organization called The Third Way published a 15-page study with the provocative title “The Red State Murder Problem.”8

See Kylie Murdock and Jim Kessler, “The Red State Murder Problem,” Third Way Report, March 15, 2022, http://thirdway.imgix.net/pdfs/the-red-state​-murder-problem.pdf (accessed November 2, 2022).

Written by Jim Kessler, a long-time Democratic policy director to Representative/Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer, and Kylie Murdock, a former intern for Congresswoman Barbara Lee and volunteer for Elizabeth Warren for President, the study states that “murder rates are far higher in Trump-voting red states than Biden-voting blue states.”9

Ibid., p. 2.

So that the reader won’t miss the political drift, the authors add, “And sometimes, murder rates are highest in cities with Republican mayors.”10

Ibid.

The “crime rate” is the number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies for every 100,000 persons within a given population. It is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population. The result is then multiplied by 100,000.

Not surprisingly, dozens of media outlets, including The Washington Post,11

See Dana Milbank, “It’s Just Murder Living in a Red State,” The Washington Post, October 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022​/10/11/republican-states-crime-rates-tuberville/ (accessed November 2, 2022).

The Hill,12

See Jim Kessler, “We Have a Murder Problem in America—Especially in Red States,” The Hill, April 20, 2022 https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign​/3274797-we-have-a-murder-problem-in-america-especially-in-red-states/ (accessed November 2, 2022).

Inside Edition,13

See Inside Edition Staff, “Red States Have Higher Murder Rates Than Blue States, According to New Study,” Inside Edition, April 6, 2022, https://www​.insideedition.com/red-states-have-higher-murder-rates-than-blue-states-according-to-new-study-74227 (accessed November 2, 2022).

Politifact,14

See Jill Terreri Ramos, “In Claim About Crime in Other States, Context Needed,” Poynter Institute, PolitiFact, April 16, 2022 https://www.politifact.com​/factchecks/2022/apr/16/crystal-peoples-stokes/claim-about-crime-other-states-context-needed/ (accessed November 2, 2022).

The Daily Beast,15

See Michael Daly, “McCarthy Blames Crime on Dems While It Rages in His GOP-Led Hometown,” The Daily Beast, updated June 11, 2022, https://www​.thedailybeast.com/kevin-mccarthy-blames-crime-on-dems-while-it-rages-in-his-gop-led-hometown (accessed November 2, 2022).

Los Angeles Magazine,16

See Jason McGahan, “Why You’re Far More Likely to Be Murdered in Fresno or Bakersfield than San Francisco or L.A., Los Angeles Magazine, March 31, 2022, https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/why-youre-far-more-likely-to-be-murdered-in-fresno-or-bakersfield-than-san-fran-and-l-a/ (accessed November 2, 2022).

the San Francisco Examiner,17

See Gil Duran, “Let’s Obliterate the Myth that Republicans Are Solving Crime and Overdoses,” San Francisco Examiner, updated June 2, 2022 https://​www.sfexaminer.com/our_sections/forum/opinion/let-s-obliterate-the-myth-that-republicans-are-solving-crime-and-overdoses/article_f34ecfac​-5f70-5682-8a27-49d650a14405.html (accessed November 2, 2022).

NBC News18

See Sahil Kapur and Jon Schuppe, “‘Overall Crime Decreased in 2020 in the U.S.,’ Report Finds,” NBC News, September 12, 2021, https://www​.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/overall-crime-decreased-2020-united-states-report-finds-n1278938 (accessed November 2, 2022).

and others, picked up the “study” and breathlessly reported on its “findings.”19

See Cory Allen Heidelberger, “Trump States Have Higher Murder Rates; South Dakota Leads Region in Chance of Death at Neighbors’ Hands,” Dakota Free Press, March 19, 2022, https://dakotafreepress.com/2022/03/19/trump-states-have-higher-murder-rates-south-dakota-leads-region-in​-chance-of-death-at-neighbors-hands/ (accessed November 2, 2022). See also Jonathan Capehart, “The Real Story About Crime Republicans Won’t Tell You,” The Washington Post, March 22, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/22/crime-murder-rates-republican-cities/ (accessed November 2, 2022); Joel Mathis, “Democrats Can’t Escape Reality. They Shouldn’t Try,” The Week, April 5, 2022, https://theweek.com/us​/1012196/white-house-officials-and-left-wing-media-critics-convinced-themselves-that-the-media (accessed November 2, 2022); Steven Greenhut, “Republicans Are Learning That Crime Data Isn’t So Simple,” Pasadena Star-News, September 18, 2022, https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2022​/09/18/republicans-are-learning-that-crime-data-isnt-so-simple/ (accessed November 2, 2022); Jeff Rouner, “Red States Have More Murders Than Blue States,” Reform Austin, April 11, 2022, https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/red-states-have-more-murders-than-blue-states/ (accessed November 2, 2022); and Jacob Bliss, “Democrats Aim to Flip Crime Script, Issue Report Blaming Red States for Wave,” Breitbart, March 16, 2022, https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/03/16/democrats-aim-to-flip-crime-script-issue-report-blaming-red-states-for-wave/ (accessed November 2, 2022).

Even Paul Krugman, New York Times opinion columnist and economist, has joined the echo chamber, albeit with an unconvincing and divorced-from-reality opinion piece wherein he opines that “nobody knows for sure what caused the surge.”20

See Paul Krugman, “Crime: Red Delusions About Purple Reality,” The New York Times, October 24, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24​/opinion/rising-crime-democrats.html (accessed November 2, 2022).

We have a pretty good idea, and many voters apparently are starting to figure it out as well.

The study’s authors and those reporting its results took advantage of the fact that the average reader does not know much about crime trends, how crime rates are calculated, and at what level (city/county/state, etc.) these statistics should be reviewed. Because of that, The Third Way’s study sounds important and shocking to most readers who visit these “news” websites.

As noted earlier, however, most crime is hyperlocalized, so the fundamental flaw with the study and the reason it does not deserve any serious consideration is that the “murder rate” in each state is largely a function of the large number of murders in a state’s biggest city or cities.21

See Rafael A. Mangual, “Dems’ Shameless Ploy to Blame Crime Rise on ‘Red States,’” New York Post, October 11, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022​/10/11/dems-shameless-ploy-to-blame-crime-rise-on-red-states/ (accessed November 2, 2022), and “Crime in American Cities, and Myth of ‘Red State Murder Problem,’ with Rafael Mangual and Jennifer Castro,” The Megyn Kelly Show, Episode 410, October 12, 2022, https://player.fm/series/the​-megyn-kelly-show/crime-in-american-cities-and-myth-of-red-state-murder-problem-with-rafael-mangual-and-jennifer-castro-ep-410 (accessed November 2, 2022).

A super majority of those cities, even in otherwise red states, are deep blue and run by left-wing ideologues.

When you remove the crime-infested, homicide-riddled cities from the state murder rate featured in the Third Way study, you dramatically lower the murder rate for that state, upending their conclusions and exposing the piece for what it really is: a straightforward attempt at political projection dressed up as a “study.”

Said another way, Kessler and Murdock did their level best as political operatives to blame their political opponents for the very thing—rising crime—that leftist policies at the city and county levels have caused.

While a state’s murder rate is perhaps politically interesting, a more accurate reflection of what is actually happening on the ground is gained by reviewing localized murder rates, such as murder rates in a city or county. What does this review show?

Table 1 lists the 30 cities with the highest murder rates in the United States as of June 30, 2022.

LM315 Table 1

Not surprisingly, of those 30 cities, 27 have Democratic mayors, the exceptions being Lexington and Jacksonville, which have Republican mayors, and Las Vegas, whose mayor is an Independent. And within those 30 cities there are at least 14 Soros-backed or Soros-inspired rogue prosecutors. Those Soros bought-and-paid-for or inspired rogue prosecutors include:

Jason Williams, New Orleans Parish District Attorney;

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore City State’s Attorney;22

On July 22, 2022, Marilyn Mosby was defeated in the primary for the office of State’s Attorney for the City of Baltimore. She lost to former Assistant State’s Attorney Ivan Bates but remains in office until the outcome of the general election is known and her successor is sworn into office.

Kim Gardner, St. Louis Circuit Attorney;

John T. Chisholm, Milwaukee County District Attorney;

Larry Krasner, Philadelphia District Attorney;

Kim Foxx, Cook County (Chicago) State’s Attorney;

Raul Torrez, Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) District Attorney;

Mike Freeman, Hennepin County (Minneapolis) Attorney;

John Creuzot, Dallas County District Attorney;

Glenn R. Funk, Nashville District Attorney General;

Santana Deberry, Durham District Attorney;

George Gascon, Los Angeles County District Attorney;

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco District Attorney;23

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was recalled in a special election on June 8, 2022. San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed Assistant District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to serve as District Attorney for the remainder of Boudin’s term.

and

Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney.

There were 2,554 homicides in those 30 cities through June 2022. In the 14 cities with Soros-backed rogue prosecutors, there were 1,752 homicides, representing 68 percent of homicides in the 30 top homicide cities in the United States.

Every Soros rogue prosecutor listed above is a Democrat.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5283700&forum_id=2#45883890)

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/sd/crime.amp

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oglala,_South_Dakota

There were 279 housing units at an average density of 22.3 per square mile (8.6/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 0.73% White, 98.78% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5283700&forum_id=2#45883916)

-J.R.

17 Likes 2 Favorites

NYT Commenter since 2014

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5283700&forum_id=2#45883789)