Watching Republicans working themselves into a lather about crime is a lesson in the power of public perception. It took time, but someone finally pointed out that America’s “heartland” is far more crime stricken than our major cities.

How far does the delusion go about “Democrat run” city crime?

During the Oklahoma gubernatorial debate, the Democratic candidate pointed out that crime was far higher in Oklahoma than it was in New York. Reacting to this assertion, the GOP candidate was practically beside himself shaking with laughter behind his podium.

Unfortunately for him, it’s true. In fact, Oklahoma’s violent crime rate is 25% higher than New York State’s and higher than California’s. It’s 50% higher than New York City’s.

Doesn’t quite fit the image of the simple, wholesome folk of the flyover states, does it?

Because of the news coverage provided by outlets like Fox, whose mention of the crime issue has spiked since early September in anticipation of the election, millions of people think New York is a crime-infested hellscape.

This is absurd.

In fact, crime in New York City today is lower than at any point during Mike Bloomberg’s three terms. That’s right, even the hapless Mayor DeBlasio saw even lower crime rates, but of course, COVID upended that trend. If you doubt that, just check Compstat.

And when that trend broke, crime spiked. But it spiked far worse in the red areas where guns are as easy to get as chewing gum.

Since the GOP has nothing else to complain about, its minions and media boffins have been flogging the issue to literally scare up votes. And it’s working!

The local media is no better. With cameras in every store and subway platform, the filmed violence is as irresistible to a news producer as a Quentin Tarantino film clip.

But the fact is, this presents a skewed picture of things. It’s just not that bad out there, but everyone is acting like their hair is on fire.

That’s what happens when you’re constantly subjected to these images every single day.

Some violent crime has, in fact, trended down in 2022. But no one is telling that story, and I imagine as the disruption COVID caused fades away, so too will crime rates.

COVID tore a big hole in this country’s psyche, and I have yet to see a good explanation for it. People talk about a “social fabric.” The pandemic tore a big hole through it in ways we do not understand.

The great thing about the crime issue from a political standpoint? No matter how low crime rates get, it will always be there. We will never experience zero crime, and as an issue, it can be used and abused perpetually.

Don’t get taken in. The Republican Party, as it is configured now, is utterly worthless.

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-city.pdf