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From Chairperson Lavora Barnes
To listen to Republicans, we’re in the middle of an apocalyptic crime wave. The reality: the crime rates have dropped dramatically since they peaked in 2020 during the Trump administration.
In his “Popular Information” newsletter, investigative journalist Judd Legum reports: ‘In a speech earlier this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said that under Biden, the United States is “plagued by bloodshed, chaos and violent crime.” A March press release by the Republican National Committee claimed that “crime [is] spiking” as a result of Biden’s policies. Trump’s claims are being repeated by other Republicans running for office.’
It’s all another Big Lie, ironically being promoted by a convicted criminal.
New data released this last week by the FBI reveals that both violent crime and property crime have dropped dramatically this year. The data compares crime in the first quarter of 2024 with crime in the first quarter of 2023. It shows substantial drops in every category, including murder ( down 26.4%), rape (down 25.7%), robbery (down 17.8%), and property crime (down 15.1%). The only crime rate going up: indictments and convictions of the leaders of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including indictments of Trump and multiple members of his reelection team.
President Biden is working to continue cutting into violent crime through enactment of common-sense gun laws that make it tougher on criminals without taking away the 2nd amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. At a Washington conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund on Tuesday, the President listed gun-related accomplishments during his administration, prompting huge cheers from the hundreds in the audience. He also called for a ban on assault-style weapons and universal background checks for firearms purchases.
This comes even as the Trump-appointed majority on the Supreme Court votes to end the ban on bump stocks, which are used to turn semi automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns. A bump stock was used in the most devastating mass shooting in US history, the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas where 60 died and more than 400 were wounded.
Another word of the week: ethics. Republicans in the U.S. Senate have blocked legislation which would create ethics rules for the Supreme Court. The vote came on the same day when three more high-price trips by Justice Clarence Thomas, paid for by a billionaire GOP donor, were revealed by Pro Publica. Thomas’s known ledger of free trips and vacations now totals more than Four-Million-Dollars, roughly equal to his salary over the same time period. Thomas is by far the most ethically corrupt justice in the court’s recent history.
In Michigan, it’s a different story. Momentum is on the side of higher ethical standards in the wake of a series of scandals involving former Republican legislative leaders.
A part of that progress: Attorney General Dana Nessel has affirmed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s tough enforcement of financial disclosures by public officials and political candidates. The opinion upholds rules that state elected officials must offer details of outside income and that must include names and addresses of the source. Nessel and Benson are the drive for even tougher financial disclosure and ethics laws.
Democrats in the Legislature are also working with Governor Whitmer to fine-tune Michigan’s economic development efforts involving what’s known as the SOAR Fund. Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund has allocated $3 billion toward big projects since it was formed in late 2021. The fund puts Michigan on a level playing field with other states in the region competing for job-creating business investments. Representative Jason Hoskins is leading the efforts to update the program. He is serving his first term in the 18th House District, which comprises Southfield, Lathrup Village and parts of Farmington, Farmington Hills and Oak Park. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with his bachelor’s degree in political science and his master’s in public administration, with a concentration in local government management and received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) School of Law. Rep. Hoskins helped create and later served as president of the UDM Law chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Prior to his time in office, Rep. Hoskins served on the Southfield City Council.
His legislative priorities include boosting the economy, supporting education, investing in our communities, ending gun violence, safeguarding our elections, protecting the environment, fighting for justice, and improving access to and affordability of health care.
In the News This Week …
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Michigan Politics
- Michigan Democratic Party Targets MAGA Matt Hall, State House GOP with New Five-Figure Domestic Violence Gun Safety Accountability Ad Campaign – Michigan Democratic Party
- PODCAST Could Trump-Curious Black Voters Swing the Election? (w/Lavora Barnes) – Crooked Media
- Signature gatherers accused of sinking Michigan GOP campaigns to face trial – Bridge Michigan
- Michigan Court of Appeals rejects Kumar’s attempt to get back on the congressional ballot • Michigan Advance
- Matt DePerno announces run for Michigan Supreme Court – wzzm13.com
- Freep endorsement: Republican Amash in US Senate Aug. 6 primary – Detroit Free Press
Michigan Policy
- SOAR remake bills see big changes, advance out of committee – WEMU-FM
- ‘Deepfake’ sexual content targeted by bills passed by Michigan House – Detroit Free Press
- Severe weather costs Michigan millions. Can funding meet demands? – Bridge Michigan
- AG opinion offers guidance for politicians to comply w disclosure rules – WDET 101.9 FM
Trump/GOP Outrages
- Opinion | Today’s Opinions: Trump wants to take us back to 19th-century corruption – Drew Goins/The Washington Post
- How Republicans used ‘cheap fake’ videos to attack Biden over 24 hours – The Washington Post
- JB Pritzker, the Democrat Who Isn’t Afraid to Call Trump a Felon – The New York Times
- Michael Steele: Republicans decry weaponized justice system post-Trump conviction, focus on Hunter Biden – MSNBC
- Senate conservatives expand their blockade of Biden nominees – Punchbowl News
- Trump Returns to the Scene of the Crime—and the GOP Cheers – The Daily Beast
- Biden campaign seizes upon Trump’s Capitol Hill visit with a televised reminder of his role on January 6 – CNN Politics
- CEOs at Trump meeting: He was ‘meandering’ and ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’ – CNBC
- Video: Trump and J6 – @JoeBiden on X
- Trump’s Milwaukee ‘horrible city’ controversy; leaders respond – Fox 6/Milwaukee
- Harlan Crow Provided Clarence Thomas Additional Private Jet Flights: Senate Investigators — ProPublica
- Trump plans constitutional showdown with Congress over federal budget – The Washington Post
- Here’s how little Americans know about the 2024 campaign – The Washington Post
National
- WATCH: Biden calls for ban on assault-style weapons at Gun Sense University conference – PBS NewsHour
- Biden and gun control advocates want to flip an issue long dominated by the NRA – AP News
- FBI: Crime down sharply under Biden administration – Judd Legum/Popular Information
- US Producer Prices Surprise With Biggest Decline Since October – Bloomberg
- Consumer Price Index Summary – 2024 M05 Results
- Biden administration seeks to wipe consumer medical debt off most credit reports with proposed rule – AP News
- Ohio special election is latest encouraging sign for Democrats – The Washington Post
- DOJ won’t prosecute AG Garland for contempt of Congress – AP News
- Supreme Court opinions: Clarence Thomas legalizing bump stocks is indefensible – Slate
- Florida’s 2024 hurricane season arrives with a rainy deluge – AP News
- DeSantis rejects climate change rationale for record-breaking floods – The Washington Post
- Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on gun bump stocks – AP News
- Federal court blocked new rules aimed at protecting transgender students – The Washington Post
- Republicans introduce bill to ban federal DEI programs – The Washington Post
- Supreme Court Backs Starbucks Over ‘Memphis 7’ Union Case – The New York Times
- North Carolina’s GOP Opposes Embryo Destruction. That Could Threaten IVF. – Mother Jones
- How Biden and Trump want to rewrite the tax code – The Washington Post