On Racism and Policing, Leadership Starts at the White House

By Ken Blackwell, CP Op-Ed Contributor Monday, July 18, 2016

Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council, and the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow for Public Policy at the Buckeye Institute in Columbus, Ohio

After last week's protests over police practices, mass killing of cops in Dallas, and usual efforts to take political advantage, it should be evident to every American that we face a crisis in public trust and accountability. The only solution is good old-fashioned leadership by men and women of integrity and principle.

American law enforcement faces a multitude of serious criticisms. For instance, the federal government has turned homeland security into pork by distributing military equipment to local governments. Some police departments use drug busts as a profit-making opportunity by seizing private property. SWAT teams look more like military special operations forces than cops.

Politics distorts policing, supplanting both safety and justice. Departments practice social engineering and politicians protect constituents and interests. Police adapt, doing what is necessary to survive politically rather than focus on what best safeguards the public.

Prejudice, bias, and PC color public perceptions of police conduct good and bad. Most cops do a tough job extremely well, but often are attacked because the outcomes violate progressive preferences. Some law enforcement agents do a bad job and are excused by those who forget that men and women in blue are imperfect people no less than the rest of us.

Common to all of these problems is leadership. It doesn't much matter if a police department has military-grade weapons, faces political pressures, and confronts usual human imperfections if its leadership is honest and strong.

Police commanders and public officials committed to protect the public and ensure justice for all can overcome such challenges. Such leaders set the tone for the entire justice system.

Just as a fish rots from the head, so does the American political system. It's not the way the Founders intended. The national authorities were to have only limited power compared to the states and the Congress was expected to set the tone for the federal government.

But in the age of celebrity worship and imperial presidents, Washington's chief executive has become the symbol not only of American government, but of America itself. In the best of cases — such as Ronald Reagan, with his optimistic and patriotic outlook and clarity about right and wrong — the country benefits.

Then there are presidents who represent the worst of America. The Clinton years put personal and political scandal on the national stage and advanced the concept of moral relativism by equivocating over the meaning of the word "is". The concept of "right" and "wrong" depends on who you are. Hillary Clinton has already demonstrated her contempt for the law, as least as it applies to her.

President Barack Obama's progressivism ushered in a new era. Playing the race card. Undermining the police. Imposing social engineering on a military at war. Sacrificing justice for politics. Protecting partisan allies, like Hillary Clinton, from the law.

Indeed, Barack Obama's first attorney general, Eric Holder, set the tone of justice in America by shutting down the federal investigation of the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation in Philadelphia. It was a two-fer: insulate an important Democratic Party ally from oversight and open voters to pressure from progressive activists. It should come as no surprise that the New Black Panthers are now involved in anti-police violence.

The Obama administration will soon end and Americans will have a chance to remove the malignancy at the top of our justice system. But, the only way to heal the relationship between police and citizens in communities across the country is by restoring principled leadership.

The country needs leaders of character and moral integrity who not only understand who the bad guys are but what needs to be done to stop crime. That doesn't mean giving cops a blank check and sacrificing citizens' lives and freedom. Accountability is fundamental to our democratic republic and we need leaders willing to stand on principle and make tough decisions.

There's no liberty if people's lives aren't protected. Equivocation risks lives. Seven and a half years of progressive ideology and practices have blurred the distinction between right and wrong, law and order.

Americans have had a glimpse into the future and they should be horrified by what they see. But our course is not predetermined. Criminals unleashed, racial division, violent protest, and police abuse do not have to be America's destiny.

The liberal/progressive approach to law and order has failed and we need to make a serious course correction. In November, Americans can start that process at the very top.

Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council. He serves on the board of directors of the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union. He is also a member of the public affairs committee of the NRA. Mr. Blackwell is also the former Mayor of Cincinnati and a former Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.