Democrats’ cynical crime package is backfiring

With supermajorities in the Capitol and control of every state constitutional office, California Democrats often display their arrogance and ideological myopia. Sometimes, however, they go too far and spark a backlash. We’re seeing that play out now as the Legislature considers a package of anti-crime measures.

The bills mostly are reasonable, but the Democratic leadership’s political approach has left Republicans, media outlets and even some moderates within their coalition crying foul. Democratic leaders have moved forward a package of 14 bipartisan bills to toughen up theft enforcement.

So far, so good. For several years, California has endured a property crime wave. Businesses have complained about losses from shoplifting and the media have reported on high-profile smash-and-grab robberies at malls. Retailers have cited theft as a key reason they’ve closed stores in some big cities.

There’s always debate over crime statistics, but there’s no doubt the public is concerned. Lawmakers have avoided addressing the problem, but a group of district attorneys and retailers recently qualified for the November ballot a measure called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act. It largely guts Proposition 47, a 2014 measure that reduced penalties for some low-level crimes.

This Editorial Board supported Prop. 47 as a means to combat over-incarceration and we believe it has become a convenient scapegoat for every conceivable crime problem. Nevertheless, in their fear of returning to the days of overly harsh sentencing, the state’s Democrats dropped the ball on tightening up the law to hold lawbreakers accountable and created an opening for a tough-on-crime backlash.

Why have they waited this long to take action? And why have they played cheap political games with the bills? In particular, Democratic leaders have proposed a “poison pill” amendment to their legislative package – nullifying these new laws if the above-mentioned ballot measure passes. They haven’t been attached yet, but could be included this week.

“It’s an obvious ploy to induce supporters of the initiative to take it off the ballot,” opined the Sacramento Bee. Democrats “are so certain of their supermajority … that they feel emboldened to game the system.” This approach “has given life to Republicans … who are reading voter anxiety over public safety better than the majority party.” When Democrats lose the Bee, they’ve got problems.

The bills being considered by the Legislature, among other things, make it easier for DAs to combine thefts at different stores and charge perpetrators with a felony, as well as make it easier to prosecute those who break into cars. Those proposals certainly seem reasonable. Yet the poison pill’s cynicism suggests Democrats are more interested in playing politics than addressing legitimate crime issues. 

They claim to fear the much-tougher ballot initiative will bring back the days of over-incarceration, which is legitimate. But as Los Angeles Times’ columnist George Skelton argues, “The party’s dominant fear, it seems, is that the measure would help Republican candidates” in close congressional races. He argues that the poison pill could give ammunition to Attorney General Rob Bonta to slap a negative ballot title and summary on the anti-crime initiative.

However this plays out, the Democrats have only themselves to blame for this embarrassment.