{"id":1357978,"date":"2022-03-04T05:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1357978"},"modified":"2022-03-04T07:56:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T12:56:08","slug":"faced-with-the-horrific-results-of-their-ideas-leftists-are-backpedaling-with-all-their-might","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/faced-with-the-horrific-results-of-their-ideas-leftists-are-backpedaling-with-all-their-might\/","title":{"rendered":"Faced With The Horrific Results Of Their Ideas, Leftists Are Backpedaling With All Their Might"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffaced-with-the-horrific-results-of-their-ideas-leftists-are-backpedaling-with-all-their-might%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1357978&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/homeless-e1646331604625-1200x675-1.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid w-100 wp-post-image\" alt=\"homeless\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/homeless-e1646331604625.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/homeless-e1646331604625-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/homeless-e1646331604625-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/homeless-e1646331604625-768x432-1.jpg 768w\" \/><br \/>\n          <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It would appear that leftists don\u2019t actually like a lot of the radical policies they have been advocating for since the beginning of the lockdowns and the death of George Floyd in spring 2020. From homelessness to crime to Covid policies, the left is backtracking on much of its platform in the face of disastrous results and frustration from rank-and-file liberals. Recent developments in our nation\u2019s capital provide some of the most dramatic examples.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mountainx.com\/news\/apd-data-on-homeless-encampments-shifts-debate-among-council-members\/\">Cities<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2021\/07\/07\/as-city-prepares-to-clear-out-avondale-homeless-encampment-residents-push-back-give-us-a-home-or-leave-us-alone\/\">across<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2021\/06\/22\/as-more-bay-area-homeless-camps-are-closed-activists-fight-back\/\">the country<\/a> are taking a more aggressive stance on homeless encampments in response to residents\u2019 complaints, including Washington, D.C. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/context\/feb-2-14-2022-washington-post-district-of-columbia-poll\/6be6cd97-ec88-4538-a258-14c72fcc33a5\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&#038;itid=lk_inline_manual_2\">early February poll<\/a> conducted by The Washington Post found that three-fourths of Washingtonians support the district\u2019s plan to clear the camps of homeless persons that now proliferate across the city. <\/p>\n<p>That the American Civil Liberties Union and even some D.C. council members oppose Mayor Muriel E. Bowser\u2019s cleanups have not stopped their enforcement. Bowser has quite a mandate for this: the number of city residents who want these camps cleared does not substantially change based on respondents\u2019 race, and is above 70 percent for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian residents.<\/p>\n<p>That the district is pursuing this policy with substantial local support is a bit ironic, given that so many prominent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acludc.org\/en\/news\/dc-homeless-communities-are-being-torn-apart-council-must-stop-no-camping-zones\">leftist organizations<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2021\/10\/22\/mayor-bowsers-harsh-plan-dc-homeless-encampments-must-end\/\">local leftist leaders<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/debate-about-encampment-clearances-reveals-frustration-on-housing\/\">Democratic politicians<\/a> have been trying for more than a year to protect these encampments. This included Ann Marie Staudenmaier, wife of Maryland gubernatorial candidate Tom Perez, who last year <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/06\/30\/tom-perezs-millionaire-wife-leads-charge-to-keep-d-c-homeless-on-the-streets\/\">advocated<\/a> for homeless camps in the district to be permitted and protected. \u201cDon\u2019t evict them from the only place that they have to call home,\u201d she urged.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it has something to do with how large numbers of homeless persons affect the cleanliness, security, and attraction of neighborhoods. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/02\/24\/dc-poll-housing-homeless-bowser\/\">separate recent WaPo article<\/a> cited residents who noted homeless persons in the camp have harassed them. One D.C. resident said downtown is \u201cnot pleasant\u201d and that the ubiquity of the encampments threatens the security of local residents. <\/p>\n<p>Although many on the left would likely grimace to say it, national trends on curbing these camps indicate a significant percentage of the rest of America feels the same way.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"refunding-the-police\">Refunding the Police<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/democrats-went-defund-refund-police-rcna14796\">Mayors of America\u2019s largest cities<\/a>, once responsive to calls to defund the police, have done a dramatic reversal in response to local frustration with higher crime rates. Now \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/podcasts\/2022\/01\/14\/refund-the-police\">refund the police<\/a>\u201d has become the cry of many liberal residents. <\/p>\n<p>In D.C., residents\u2019 opinions on crime and police have experienced this shift, given <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/local\/2022\/01\/2021-wraps-up-as-one-of-regions-most-violent-years-in-ages\/#:~:text=In%20the%20District%2C%20the%2020,also%20saw%20more%20violent%20deaths.\">increased crime and murder rates<\/a> in the city since 2020. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/02\/25\/police-poll-violence-dc\/\">recent WaPo poll<\/a>, a sizable majority (59 percent) now agree that increasing the number of police officers patrolling communities would reduce the amount of violent crime in D.C.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe share of Washingtonians who say they are not safe from crime has risen to 30 percent this year from 22 percent in November 2019 and is the highest in more than two decades of Post polls,\u201d reports the WaPo.<\/p>\n<p>This is quite a change from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sptdc.com\/defund-mpd\">\u201cdefund the police\u201d<\/a> initiatives city residents \u2014 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sptdc.com\/defund-mpd\">various activist groups<\/a> \u2014 so loudly endorsed after the death of George Floyd. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/dc-politics\/dc-police-cuts\/2020\/06\/25\/dacff0e2-b6f2-11ea-a510-55bf26485c93_story.html\">D.C. government in 2020 supported<\/a> measures in June 2022 to cut $15 million from the police department budget. At the time, the police chief warned this could lead to the loss of hundreds of officers and that underfunding training and equipment might result in officers using <em>more <\/em>excessive force.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, D.C. is not alone in wanting to refund the police. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/democrats-went-defund-refund-police-rcna14796\">NBC reported in February<\/a>, Democratic politicians are calling the \u201cdefund the police\u201d movement \u201cdead\u201d and mayors in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago are \u201cmoving to increase police budgets and end \u2018the reign of criminals.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"surrendering-to-pandemic-fatigue\">Surrendering to Pandemic Fatigue<\/h2>\n<p>Democratic states are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/02\/09\/1079654971\/democrats-roll-back-covid-restrictions-in-their-states-as-omicron-attitudes-shif\">ending many Covid restrictions<\/a> in the face of rising complaints from their constituents. Consider D.C. Mayor Bowser\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dcist.com\/story\/22\/02\/14\/dc-bowser-vaccine-mask-mandate\/\">mid-February announcement<\/a> that she would lift the city\u2019s vaccine requirement for businesses and \u201cdial back\u201d the city\u2019s indoor mask rules. This announcement followed a number of states \u2014 including many governed by Democrats \u2014 that have also eased their restrictions as polls come back showing their rising unpopularity. Now D.C.\u2019s party scene is \u201creturning to normal,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/02\/27\/bars-covid-nightlife-pandemic-normal\/\">reports the WaPo<\/a>, even though coronavirus case counts in and around Washington remain \u201chigh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is a remarkable and speedy shift, especially considering D.C. had some of the most strict Covid restrictions in the country. Perhaps the District\u2019s dramatic about-face has something to do with widespread annoyance with pandemic restrictions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/02\/08\/us\/politics\/covid-restrictions-americans.html\">even among liberal voters<\/a>. Perhaps it results from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2022\/2\/11\/22904377\/democrat-governors-pandemic-mask-mandates\">rising tide of Democratic politicians<\/a> listening to their constituencies despite \u201cpublic health guidance\u201d claiming the country is moving too fast in loosening the rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps all of these changes also relate to the fact that the District of Columbia is no longer experiencing the population boom and gentrification that have defined the last couple of decades. The capital\u2019s population declined by 2.9 percent from 2020 to 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2021\/2021-population-estimates.html\">according to the Census Bureau<\/a>. Living in an increasingly dangerous, filthy nanny-city is apparently not that appealing, even to the District\u2019s majority leftist population. This has been part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/03\/democrat-run-states-saw-residents-flee-in-2021\/\">broader national trend<\/a> as people across the nation in 2021 left Democratic-run states.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mugged-by-reality\">Mugged by Reality<\/h2>\n<p>To borrow a phrase from the late Irving Kristol, D.C. residents (and liberals across the country) have been mugged by reality \u2014 and in some cases <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcwashington.com\/news\/local\/4-teenagers-arrested-in-string-of-armed-robberies-in-dc-police\/2921922\/\">actually mugged<\/a>. Perhaps living in a lefty utopia where the homeless camp wherever they like, undisturbed by a defunded police force, with fickle and irrational health-related restrictions isn\u2019t all that it\u2019s cracked up to be. <\/p>\n<p>Democrat D.C. residents, like the rest of Americans, don\u2019t actually like their public spaces overrun by homeless persons, their neighborhoods suffering increased violent crime rates, or their cities stuck in a cycle of never-ending draconian public safety regulations.<\/p>\n<p>What this all means is that, thankfully, certain activist narratives that threatened all Americans have lost considerable steam. It also means these policies are likely political liabilities in upcoming elections. Perhaps it also shows there are certain things that all Americans can still agree on.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. He has a bachelor\u2019s in history and master\u2019s in teaching from the University of Virginia and a master\u2019s in theology from Christendom College. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It would appear that leftists don\u2019t actually like a lot of the radical policies they have been advocating for since the beginning of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1357978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1357978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1357978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1357978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1357978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}