Policeman for Kerry (you heard right)

A couple of entries ago ("A Parade of Dorthys," Thursday, May 06, 2004) I noted that I often have a difficult time putting Bush's policies in the "Christian" and "compassionate" framework he supposedly represents. The results of so much of what has been implemented by this administration simply makes life worse for everybody.

It is doubly confusing because the image that is sold to us, and so many buy, is that of a kind, spiritual man who genuinely cares about our quality of life.

So why is the nation's murder rate consistently increasing during the Bush administration's reign? The Daily Kos addresses this question today by referencing a great article and a positive development for Kerry.

First the article: The Washington Monthly just released an article entitled: Bush's War On Cops. In it, the author,Washington Monthly editor Benjamin Wallace-Wells, notes that crime rates are directly proportional to the number of cops on the street. Naturally, the Bush policies have bankrupted states, which in turn forces them to cut, cut, cut:

"The real cause of the police shortage is not in City Hall but in the White House. The Bush administration's first budget eliminated all direct funding for street cops. The war in Iraq, fought largely without allies, has required the call-up of huge numbers of reserves, many of whom are cops. And instead of using the men in blue as eyes and ears on the domestic war on terrorism, the administration has, in effect, used them as glorified security guards."

The event: The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, a police union that backed President Bush in the 2000 election, is endorsing Kerry for this one.

“After three and a half years of disappointing leadership under George Bush, we need to change course in November and elect a president with a real record of supporting police officers and a lifetime of standing with law enforcement," IBPO President David Holway said in a statement provided by the Kerry campaign.

How long, really, can Bush's image stand?