President Barack Obama is being careful to publicly sympathize with cops, even as his deputies and allies encourage and promote the divisive, anti-cop Black Lives Movement in the run-up to the November election.
The July 8 statement from the Democratic National Committee, for example, even suggested that the killing of the five cops in Dallas was a consequence of police agencies’ supposed failure to agree with the BLM goals. “While most protesters have made their voices heard peacefully, tonight’s shooting of officers in Dallas is unacceptable and a reminder that the time to address these tensions and find common ground is long overdue,” said the 316-word statement, which was overwhelmingly focused on the killing of two black men in two police shootings earlier this week.
Similarly, Attorney General Loretta Lynch used her Friday statement to cheer on the BLM movement. The public response to the three shootings “must be action: calm, peaceful, collaborative and determined action. We must continue working to build trust between communities and law enforcement,” she said.
To those who seek to improve our country through peaceful protest and protected speech: I want you to know that your voice is important. Do not be discouraged by those who use your lawful actions as cover for their heinous violence. We will continue to safeguard your constitutional rights and to work with you in the difficult mission of building a better nation and a brighter future.
Hillary Clinton went the furthest, perhaps because she’s in most need of a high black turnout in November, and she faces little danger of further dropping her low support among white voters.
She tried to emotionally bond with black voters and black radicals by blaming whites and cops for the unusual number of young black men killed in engagements with police. “I’m going to be talking to white people, we’re the ones who have to start listening to the legitimate cries coming from our African-American fellow citizens,” Clinton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Federal policing guidelines are needed because “we have 18,000 police departments… [some of which need more training to] go after systemic racism, which is a reality, and to go after systemic bias,” she said.
This rile-the-base strategy is an election-year perennial for Democrats, said Fran Coombs, the managing editor at Rasmussen Report. “The Democrats have always have done that — they are always crying ‘Racism!’… they’re appealing to their voter base [because] the Democrats are concerned that black turnout will not be as enthusiastic [in 2016] because they don’t have a black candidate.”
But Obama is being careful to not anger cops — and their middle-class supporters — while his allies and deputies continue the hard work of shouting ‘racism!’ in the run-up to November.
On Thursday night, before the Dallas shootings, Obama used the shooting of the two black men to push his progressive claim that blacks are unfairly treated by police and society.
These are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system… there are practices we can institute that will make a difference … if anything good comes out of these tragedies, my hope is, is that communities around the country take a look and say, how can we implement these recommendations?
But he wrapped his Thursday statement with repeated promises of support for cops;
To all of law enforcement, I want to be very clear. We know you have a tough job. We mourn those in uniform who are protecting us who lose their lives.
On a regular basis, I have joined with families in front of Capitol Hill to commemorate the incredible heroism that they have displayed. I have hugged family members who have lost loved ones doing the right thing. I know how much it hurts.
He also camouflaged his hard-nosed political agenda, often by indirectly criticizing his targets, including Americans and their society.
And it’s to recognize the reality that we’ve got some tough history and we haven’t gotten through all of that history yet. And we don’t expect that in my lifetime, maybe not in my children’s lifetime, that all the vestiges of that past will have been cured, will have been solved, but we can do better.
People of good will can do better. And doing better involves not just addressing potential bias in the criminal justice system. It’s recognizing that too often we are asking police to man the barricades in communities that have been forgotten by all of us for way too long in terms of sub-standard schools and inadequate jobs and a lack of opportunity.
On Friday, after the attack on the Dallas police, Obama turned up the apparent sympathy for cops, turned down his claims of racism, and temporarily ditched his political demands.
What we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement. Police in Dallas were on duty, doing their jobs, keeping people safe during peaceful protests. These law enforcement officers were targeted, and nearly a dozen officers were shot. Five were killed. Other officers and at least one civilian were wounded — some are in serious condition, and we are praying for their recovery … There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement … as a nation, let’s remember to express our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue — not just today, but every day.
That’s far more complimentary of cops than he was in 2014, when Obama needed a high black turnout for the off-year election. After one cop killed one black man in Ferguson, Mo., and then local African-Americans rioted, Obama declared “there’s … no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.” That was just three months before the November mid-term election when he lost control of the Senate.
Democrats, said Coombs, “have got to make blacks feel motivated enough to go to the polls.’ But because of the shocking shooting in Dallas, “they’ll put a cork in it for the next few days,” he added.
Just at the end of his Friday statement, Obama promised that he will soon restart his divisive push for gun-control.
We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. And in the days ahead, we’re going to have to consider those realities as well. In the meantime, today our focus is on the victims and their families. They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving.
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