MSNBC host Tiffany Cross dismissed outright the idea that Democratic policies are at all to blame for America’s skyrocketing crime problem.
THE QUOTE
In Saturday’s edition of “The Cross Connection,” Cross — who is among the most strident of MSNBC’s liberal on-air personalities — panned an ad criticizing Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin’s Democratic senatorial candidate, over his support for progressive criminal justice reform policies, which include ending cash bail and cutting the prison population in half.
She characterized the television spot as a “bullhorn racist attack ad,” before conceding, “quite honestly there has been a spike in homicides.”
- “That has nothing to do with Democratic polices of course and certainly Mandela Barnes is not responsible for any such thing,” Cross added.
There is at least some evidence linking bail reform to increased criminal reoffending.
- Data released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services earlier this month suggests ending cash bail resulted in 5,300 additional arrests in New York in 2020.