LEOs and Republicans

[grumpyirishman]

Its not that they are Republican, its that they are mostly CONSERVATIVES, of any party.

[jrhodes]

Now, is this because of the liberal agenda of the democrats? Are democrats/liberals being confused with being soft with criminals through their practices of different agendas?

well considering that is exactly what liberals are, soft, that would make sense
I'm not even gonna waste my time and effort to go on

[K9 Police]

LEOs and Republicans

Question of the day:

Why are law enforcement officers traditionally republican?

I have had many conversations with citizens lately, including my wife, in regards to law enforcement officers being republican and usually taking a hard stand against democrats. Now, is this because of the liberal agenda of the democrats? Are democrats/liberals being confused with being soft with criminals through their practices of different agendas? Wouldn't logic suggest that officers would want higher taxes to contribute to more officers, higher pay, better equipment, etc?

"Congress gutted funding for some of the most successful programs, including the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program and the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Each of these programs has allowed state, local, tribal, and university law enforcement agencies to increase their capabilities and improve their effectiveness. JAG funds, in particular, have provided funds for critical operational activities such as drug task forces. For more than a decade, COPS Grants and the Byrne Program have provided law enforcement with resources to strengthen their core capabilities and have allowed them to greatly improve upon their crime fighting efforts. Sheriffs and Police Chiefs are united in their belief that these cuts will seriously impede the progress that has been made in reducing crime and will further destroy any advancements made toward ridding our communities of methamphetamine."

http://www.theiacp.org/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=document&document_type_id=7&document_id=766&subtype_id=

"There is no question that the increase in crime in America, violent and otherwise, corresponds to the substantial decline in funding for local and state law enforcement from the Federal government. The result is that since the late 1990s, nationally, police departments have far fewer officers today than even during that period."

http://www.theiacp.org/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=document&document_id=873

Is it safe to argue that the law enforcement community is worse off today with republicans in power than it was a decade ago? Why are we as a profession so supportive of leadership that undercuts our funding and support?

Now, after reading this you might assume I am a democrate or liberal; I am not. I have traditionally been a republican; however, as of late, these issues have become of interest. Looking for some good feedback, insight, analysis, arguments, debates, etc.

K9

[SlowDownThere]

Conservative on some issues, Liberal on others.

I never liked those neat, clean labels. Real life is too complex for them

[SWATcop]

It's because we're smarter than the average bear.

[justice12]

It seems to me that most of the police unions in my state typically endorse Democrats, probably becayse they are generally pro-labor and pro-union. That doesn't mean the individual officers are largely Democrat, in fact I think that I agree that cops tend to be conservative and therefore Republican.

I am no fan of Bill Clinton, but he was very good for law enforcement in the 1990's. A lot of federal funds went to hiring more cops while he was President. I agree with K9 too, although Democrats may appoint liberal judges and may seem anti-law enforcement, they are usually more likely to spend money on officers and equipment. I worked for a town that was dominated by Republicans and they were extremely cheap when it came to everything.

[1042 Trooper]

It's because we're smarter than the average bear.

You beat me to it.

[Washingtonian]

As police, we see the downsides to a lot of the social programs that democrats think are fantastic in theory, but they don't really see the reality of them. We see how the welfare programs give ghetto dwellers a sense of entitlement, and further enable the behavior that often make them "disenfranchised" to begin with. We see that you can sink infinite funds into the school system, but if the kids learn no discipline at home they still have dim futures. And of course we see a lot of how well "rehabilitation" works on most criminals.
Democrats are often the people who are profiting from these programs, or they're rich elitists who never actually see where the money is going, they just feel less guilty about what's going on in the world because they support some meaningless social programs.
That's not to put down all democrats, I think the ones who aren't far-left are spot on with some issues. And I really don't think republicans are much better.

[Centurion44]

Question of the day:

Why are law enforcement officers traditionally republican?

I wouldn't say we are traditionally republican- but we are definately traditionally conservative.

Why?

Because we work hard for little money. What money we do earn (as opposed to "is given to us") we like to actually keep.

We also believe in individual rights and freedoms, and we also believe each individual has the freedom to be held accountable for his or her own actions.

[detsarg]

As police, we see the downsides to a lot of the social programs that democrats think are fantastic in theory, but they don't really see the reality of them. We see how the welfare programs give ghetto dwellers a sense of entitlement, and further enable the behavior that often make them "disenfranchised" to begin with. We see that you can sink infinite funds into the school system, but if the kids learn no discipline at home they still have dim futures. And of course we see a lot of how well "rehabilitation" works on most criminals.
Democrats are often the people who are profiting from these programs, or they're rich elitists who never actually see where the money is going, they just feel less guilty about what's going on in the world because they support some meaningless social programs.
That's not to put down all democrats, I think the ones who aren't far-left are spot on with some issues.

This is a great response. Agree 100%

And I really don't think republicans are much better.

Yes we are. Agree 0%

[chaser266]

Cops are conservatives because the conservative philosophy is common sense, and tough-on-crime. Meanwhile, the liberals are of a more forgiving and rehabiliatating mindset.

As officers, we need to remember that being tough on crime is great, but that doesn't always equate to putting bread on the table. A lot of officers strongly support president Bush, but do they realize that he supported a change in the FLSA that could result in less stability in police officers' schedules and a loss of overtime pay? See the following link...

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/overtimepay/underattack.cfm

I really like the concept of locking up criminals, not to mention conservative judiciary apointments, but those things don't put bread on the table. Of course, I'd never support a wingnut that proposes jailing every cop that shoots somebody, so I look at political candidates on a case-by-case basis.

[Cruiser]

It's not that we are Republicians sao much as it is that we are more conservative as many have pointed out. In addition while these programs did do a little to help, for the most part they simply funneled money into programs that do not work and social work and more government jobs, which were filled by liberal democrats. Labels are really wrong as if your look at it I am more of a Libertarian than anything else but have to register republcain in order to vote in the primaries! The Libertarian Party is a joke but the concept is pretty good.