Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Tipping Point


After President Trump is re-elected, some will look back and say that the tipping point was his magnificent speech at Mount Rushmore. I would agree that that speech was very good (and not at all “divisive” as the NYT and CNN commented), but I think that what will be viewed as the tipping point occurred last week when the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) threw its support behind President Trump’s re-election bid because of his “steadfast and very public support” for law enforcement.

NAPO President Michael McHale pointed out how important it is to have the president’s support “during this time of unfair and inaccurate opprobrium being directed at our members by so many.”

(FYI: I too had to look up the word, “opprobrium” . . . the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.)

Here I would emphasize “unfair and inaccurate opprobrium.”

I suspect that many of you are saying that you have never heard of NAPO,and if you’ve never heard of NAPO, how can their endorsement be considered a tipping point.

First of all let me point out that this union did not support a candidate in the 2016 election but did endorse former President Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden in the 2008 and 2012 elections. 

Why this big change? Let’s consider the positions of the candidates.

Donald Trump reiterated his support for law enforcement a week or ago,

“Our officers have been under vicious assault,” he said. “Reckless politicians have defamed our heroes as the enemy…These radical politicians want to defund and abolish the police.”

Joe Biden, meanwhile, initially said he was against efforts to defund law enforcement but changed his tune in a recent interview with ‘Now This’, arguing police have “become the enemy” and expressed support for cutting funding.

So Trump is pro-Police, and Biden is pro- ???. This is not really news. Why a tipping point?

Look at Trump’s tweet:

THANK YOU 

@NAPO police and their 241,000 brave law enforcement members for a FULL & COMPLETE ENDORSEMENT! I will ALWAYS back the men and women in blue, and never let you down. LAW AND ORDER will prevail! 

241,000 members!! 

In itself in the National scheme of things, 241,000 members may not be a huge deal, but consider that most of these 241,000 have families and extended families. They have friends and community acquaintances, and for sure most of these 241,000 members will not be shy about letting them know which candidate is the one that will protect their ass when push comes to shove. I would estimate that the opinion of these 241,000 members will convince a lot of independents. Likewise a lot of people have distant relatives that are police officers, and in the past many of these individuals are either Independent or have voted Democrat in the past. Not so, anymore.

When there is trouble in your neighborhood President Trump confidently says, “call the police.”

“Mr. Biden, who ya gonna call?”

Biden . . . “Ghostbusters?”

7/19/20

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