Brooks: Democrats ‘Got on the Wrong Side of Order’

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks said that the Democratic Party “somehow got on the wrong side of” issues of law and order.

Brooks stated, “Democrats, I think, have come to understand, they somehow got on the wrong side of order. And they got somehow attached, even though Biden is not actually attached to it, to the idea of defunding the police. And they need to somehow make some gesture to show they understand the insecurity of the American people. The country has been through an anxious time, with the pandemic, economic turmoil. There’s just this great sense of fear, of fear and a sense of unsafety, physical unsafety, from the pandemic and everything else. And somehow, they have to address that.”

He continued, “Now, a lot of the law and order talk is code word for racism. There’s no question about that. But I think a lot of it is not. And I think Democrats would be making a mistake if they just said, oh, you’re all just a bunch of cryptoracists. I think people have legitimate concerns about expressing their opinions safely, about living safely. And so, I think Biden really would do well by himself to somehow address this issue and say, no, we’re for policing, we want to reform policing, but we will keep you safe.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett