By Joel Mathis, The Week

“Defund the police” is dead in the Democratic Party, at least for now. The party isn’t going to let itself get beat on the crime issue.

That much should be clear from events in recent days. President Biden on Wednesday announced that state and local governments will be allowed to use their billions of dollars in COVID relief money to bolster their police departments — hiring new officers, paying for overtime, and buying gunshot detection systems to quickly detect and respond to acts of violence — part of a broader effort to address a rising wave of violent crime in the nation’s big cities.

“We’re taking on the bad actors doing bad and dangerous things to our communities and to our country,” Biden told reporters.

Crime is a local issue, and it is affecting party politics at the local level, too. Eric Adams, a former police captain who has told New Yorkers that “the prerequisite for prosperity is public safety,” appears to be leading in that city’s Democratic primary election. The voters, it appears, are speaking out in favor of their own safety.

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