Woke Prosecutors on the Defense as Their Cities Are Swept By Crime
Billionaire George Soros recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal trying to justify his spending $40 million to elect 75 “woke” prosecutors, whose lax policies have allowed their cities to descend into chaos. Violent crime is way up, drug deaths have skyrocketed, and the police feel like they are under constant attack.
Why would prosecutors funded by Soros allow this to take place on their watch? The answer lies in the progressive world view that our criminal justice system is so corrupt, so hopelessly racist that it is impossible to get just outcomes. For them, the criminal justice system also offers a tempting cudgel to advance the progressive agenda on everything from marijuana to abortion.
Rather than make public safety their priority, Soros’s prosecutors prioritize social issues like racial equity, economic inequality, and rights of undocumented immigrants. By misapplying “prosecutorial discretion” to selectively enforce the laws, Soros DAs choose what crimes to charge (and not charge) based on how they fit into their woke worldview. And in doing so, they violate their oath of office to faithfully execute the laws. This is what they consider “criminal justice reform.”
Voters are rejecting Soros’ prosecutors and their radical criminal justice policies. In the last few months voters have thrown out two of Soros’s “reform prosecutors,” Marilyn Mosby of Baltimore and Chesa Boudin of San Francisco.
Seeing that the public understood the damage being caused, Mr. Soros wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (“Why I Support Reform Prosecutors”) in an effort to spin the readers. While filled with banalities about the need to be “thoughtful,” “data-driven” and “public-safety oriented,” Soros’s op-ed had no facts or data to back up his platitudes and policies. All he gave us were rainbows and unicorns.
President John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things,” and here are the stubborn facts about how residents of cities with Soros-supported prosecutors are faring. From 2019 to 2021, murders in San Francisco were up 37%, in New York 53%, in Philadelphia 58% and in Chicago 60%. Those cities also saw huge increases in property crimes. And people are rightfully concerned.
It is easy for a progressive billionaire to back policies that sacrifice public safety at the altar of the Woke. George Soros doesn’t have to live in the crime-infested cities. He can afford to live behind walls and gates, buy high tech security systems, and hire armed bodyguards. For us non-billionaires, we can’t afford such protection.
Today, 20% of the U.S. population (72 million people) are trapped in jurisdictions where a Soros prosecutor governs. It is no coincidence that 40% of the nation’s homicides have come from those same cities and counties.
For those of us conservatives who have been working to advance reasonable improvements to the criminal justice system, the Soros prosecutors are making our efforts much harder. Personal responsibility is the cornerstone of public safety. But instead, progressive prosecutors seem to blame society rather than the individual for crimes committed, and thus, absolving the offenders of their bad acts.
This is not “criminal justice reform.” Unfortunately, the Soros approach poisons the well for reforms that actually reduce crime.
Americans understand that our criminal justice system is not perfect. Most offenders are released more dangerous than when they went into prison. The needs of victims are often left unmet. And more than half of offenders are back in prison within three years of release. We are spending nearly $100 billion a year to fund a system that is failing us.
Just as conservatives believe offenders should be held accountable, we must also hold the government accountable when they fail to make us safer. Are we getting the most bang for what we spend on public safety? The answer is largely ‘no.’
Conservatives have championed policies that focus on reducing recidivism through prison education and programs, addiction treatment, mental health services and mentorship. We have supported conviction integrity units, efforts to reduce prison rape, and protection for religious programs in prison. And we have funded these reforms by easing up on the length of sentences for those who pose no threat to public safety, while still holding them accountable. These are reasonable reforms supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Criminal justice reform was once a bi-partisan issue strong enough to bring together Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats to enact federal criminal justice legislation known as the First Step Act. Unfortunately, George Soros and his progressive prosecutors are not only making it harder to improve our criminal justice system, their policies are making communities less safe.
Pat Nolan is the founder of the Nolan Center for Justice at the American Conservative Union Foundation. Pat was the Republican Leader of the California State Assembly in the 80’s and has been a leader on crime issues for over 40 years. He was honored with the “Victims Advocate Award” by Parents of Murdered Children.
