In the wake of the many tragedies in the U.S. over the past few weeks, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has taken to calling himself the candidate of "Law and Order."
I'm not a fan of the term for several reasons. It was first introduced in American politics by the Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, an election that set the stage for modern politics. Goldwater's landslide loss to Lyndon Johnson set the realignment of both parties, making the Republican "Party of Lincoln" absorb the Dixiecrats who were rabidly against Civil Rights, with more moderates joining the Democrats.
"Law and Order" was then championed successfully by Republicans Nixon and later Reagan, who both stressed that the appropriate response to the rampant drugs and crime of the 1960s could only be confronted by harsher punishments and more incarceration.
Although one could say that Nixon took "Law and Order" perhaps too seriously, especially over anti-war protests, the policy was popular. Gerald Ford said "How long are we going to abdicate law and order in favor of a soft social theory that the man who heaves a brick through your window or tosses a firebomb into your car is simply the misunderstood and underprivileged product of a broken home?" The choice was between punishing crime now, or waiting to see if perhaps solving underlying reasons would solve it later. Voters enthusiastically chose Law and Order.
The policies are a bit of a mixed bag. The war on drugs has been a complete failure, with marijuana more popular than ever (even legalized in some places), and more dangerous drugs like heroin ascendant. Crime continued to rise throughout the 1960s until peaking at around the 1990s. Since then there has been a steady decline in crime, though whether this is due to Law and Order policies or other trends is hard to tell, as even Bill Clinton pushed mandatory sentences.
But the real problem today isn't crime, with violent crime only .387% and property crime only 2.9% (which is historically very low). The problems are far more emotional, as we see a mass murder every week, or an innocent's death by the police. Though the number of people killed are relatively low, with our 24-hour news it is easy to believe we are beset by terrorism, rioters, anarchists or racist cops.
And Donald Trump doesn't craft a very reasonable solution to that. He hasn't offered promises to give police, the military or mental health further funding. With the National Rifle Association's support, he hasn't made any promise to curb gun ownership from terrorists or criminals. His solution to terrorism seems to be "lock the door and keep the foreigners out," despite the fact that most terrorism in American is committed by "lone wolves" who were born poor in the US and became radicalized.
Whoever wins the election, it isn't likely to move the needle much, with most police and mental heath funded at the state level. But if you hear someone say they will bring in "Law and Order," think about what they mean, and whether it actually works.
