Following the killing of George Floyd last summer, there were calls for more police training and reform. The GOP and its media arm, though, decided that any kind of police reform amounts to “defunding the police.”
The messaging was quite successful for the party as the fear mongering helped Republicans win more house seats than expected despite losing the White House and the Senate.
And with an uptick in crime, Conservative media is really rallying against the idea of police reform. In fact, Sean Hannity told listeners on Thursday that any kind of change will result in the streets running with blood.
The Fox host said during his radio program, “I saw actor James Woods ripping Biden and Lightfoot saying, ‘As long as Democrats continue to defund the police, America’s streets will run with blood.'”
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Hannity continued, “I wish he was wrong. I wish I could criticize him and say he’s wrong, but I can’t. Because it’s inevitable. A license to steal, a license to commit crimes in New York — no bail. License to steal in San Francisco, processing illegal immigrants, ignoring the laws of the land. “
Of course, fear mongering is an essential part of not just the Fox brand, but of Republican chances of winning elections. So while Hannity’s comments seem extraordinarily hyperbolic, it is a good preview of what to expect over the next 18 months.
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
