But hope only goes that far, and the feverish desire among Democratic activists to honor Floyd’s life by passing federal legislation that would force police to answer for brutality and misconduct is clashing with the realities of a capital city. polarized. While many Americans (including some Republicans) may pass the verdict in the Chauvin case, Republicans and Democrats are still struggling to reconcile perspectives on how to hold rogue officials accountable for their behavior, creating serious challenges for the government. proposed legislation.
There is also a broader threat to compromise efforts: the bitter political forces shaking the country following Donald Trump’s presidency, which could crush the already limited space for bipartisan action. Republicans running in the midterm elections – and in some cases in future presidential primary races – have a strong incentive to appeal to grassroots voters by taking a tough stance on law and order and demonizing democrats as radicals who want to spread the police.
Some Republicans may also argue that since justice was achieved in the Floyd case, claims of systemic racism in law enforcement are exaggerated and therefore no action is needed. This point of discussion already arises in Fox News.
In this brief moment of sympathy, it’s also easy to forget that the Republican Party’s effort to portray Democrats as a threat to law enforcement — largely inaccurately suggesting that they all supported radical calls to “spread the police ”- was one of his most powerful weapons in the 2020 election and is likely to hold when they enter the midterm races in 2022.
Even President Joe Biden, who plans to defend George Floyd’s Police Justice Act during his speech at a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, acknowledged Democrats’ political dangers to police during a virtual private meeting with leaders of civil rights in December.
The GOP shows little appetite to move
Several Republican strategists warned Wednesday that dissatisfaction with police and disgust with Chauvin’s diabolical acts during his meeting with Floyd last May should not be confused with a motive in support of dramatic changes in police laws. of that country within the Republican Party base. .
Support for Chauvin’s verdict, said veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, “does not mean there is support for a national effort to reform the police.”
“Republicans may be able to pick bite-sized pieces, but it’s likely 2022 will be a lower turnout, a typical mid-term pick, making it a base pick,” Newhouse said. “It’s hard to see how moving toward engagement on an issue like this motivates your base or even helps you win cross-polls … Whatever bill the Democrats push will probably go too far for more Republicans moderates “.
Garland noted that the investigation will examine whether the department uses excessive force and will also examine its training, supervision, and “use of force” policies. Biden has also expressed confidence in the leadership of Vanita Gupta, who was confirmed Wednesday as associate attorney general after Republican Party Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke ties with her party to support Gupta. , stating that he has the skill and experience to help “to eliminate unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system.”
But the executive branch has its limits, and finally both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have acknowledged that changing laws in Congress offers the most lasting possibilities for reform.
Signs of hope for the Senate
In the Senate, there seems to be a real effort to get a compromise, led by Republicans led by Tim Scott of South Carolina – the only Senator from the Black Republican Party – and Democrats by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Still, Scott said informal talks could end in the next week or two. And Booker called his Republican colleague an “honest runner.” California Rep. Karen Bass of California, who was the author of the House bill, said she believes Scott is sincere in seeking an agreement and on Wednesday raised a potential compromise on qualified immunity. .
“There’s a way to impose more of the burden on the department or the employer than on the employees,” he said Wednesday. “I think it can be a logical step and that, as I’ve talked to Karen Bass over the last few weeks, Democrats are very receptive.”
Scott, who has offered a less comprehensive bill than the one passed by the Democratic-led House, said changes to the language in section 242 were “off the table” for him.
Bass said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” that it was worth considering Scott’s approach, but that police officers should be held accountable, in comments that seemed to indicate strong differences with South Carolinians.
“Qualified immunity and section 242 … are real components of the bill and we need to make sure it’s there,” he said. “That’s why Derek Chauvin felt so knightly in torturing George Floyd to death.”
Fix points on key aspects
Any compromise on qualified immunity should go through progressive and civil rights groups, who see it as vital to reverse decades of discrimination and brutality against black Americans.
Progressive Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York told CNN on Wednesday that it would not be acceptable to shift responsibilities from police officers to their departments. Reformers argue that police officers must take individual responsibility for their actions.
“The core of the problem is that not only the police departments as a whole, but it is the officers who can act with impunity,” said Damon Hewitt, acting president and executive director of the Civil Rights Lawyers Committee. Law.
“Is there anything that is a counterweight to prevent them from doing the kind of things Derek Chauvin did? My responsibility to the police department would, in my view, be insufficient to do so,” Hewitt said.
Proponents of preserving qualified immunity claim that its withdrawal would cause officers to falter in sudden and dangerous situations of risk in which force may be required and when failure to act could put them or civilian spectators at risk. .
“Officers perform vital tasks that require split-second decisions in intense circumstances,” Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez said during a debate on the George Floyd Act before it was passed in the House in March. Gimenez argued that removing qualified immunity would lead officers to retire and make the community less secure, as it would be “impossible for them to do their job.”
But while the debate, led by Republicans for pro-Trump flamethrower representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, presented some principled arguments about the bill, it also added to partisan politics that could condemn the compromise. of the Senate.
“What this bill ultimately does is disburse the police,” Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida said in a slogan popularized by Trump and conservative hosts of informational opinions to propel his tough narrative “law and order “during the 2020 presidential campaign.” You say it’s a reform bill. I say it’s BS. ”
Terry Sullivan, a longtime Republican strategist and partner at Firehouse Strategies, said it remains to be seen whether leaders of both parties can push their members to go beyond the current dynamic that has created so much paralysis in Congress , which he described as “an all-or-nothing game” where “you’d rather have a problem with which to beat your opponent” than win a partial victory in politics.
“This is a perfect example of the biggest problem in Congress right now,” Sullivan said, “if, given the choice between short-term political victory and long-term political goals, political victory in the short term it almost always wins. “