I came across a Facebook comment on the page of a candidate for Sheriff in a rural county in northwest Ohio. It demonstrates an aspect that may be missing from our understanding on how the issue of law enforcement funding is viewed in deeply conservative areas. Give it a read:
I have had some experience with local officials in this very conservative area. Though Republican and very much in support of Trump, many still chose to get involved in local politics for the same reasons that progressives do. To paraphrase: do the best that you can, to help as many as you can, for as long as you can.
Noble in intent, this creates blind spots. I’ve traveled down a quarter mile of rural road with just one household on it. How often should a road serving one household be repaved? Wouldn’t it be better to repave the road serving an apartment building that houses hundreds? The answer is yes. The result is the rural road only gets repaved, maybe, once a quarter century.
Locals are aware that funding for county road repairs is often decided at the state level. As is funding for county sheriff’s offices. Sure, a good deal of money comes from county sales taxes, but with ever-decreasing populations, that doesn’t cut it.
Instead of biting the tax bullet and raising something, somewhere, the local conservative politicians blame the state, and repeat the old mantra that the cities are robbing the rurals of their fair share in funding. This issue is complicated as cities raise the bulk of revenue, but keeping it would turn the ‘all for one and one for all’ idea of e pluribus unum into a clear lie.
And, at some point, you gotta pave that rural road. A few times every year it handles commercial vehicles carrying the tons of cheap grain necessary to keep the $1 menu going at McDs.
So when rural America sees the resources pouring into Portland and even Kenosha, it reminds them that there are only two deputies on duty at night in a fairly large rural county. It reminds them that American inequality impacts them in ways that a lot of folks just don’t see.
And when they see the calls for defunding, they wonder what it would be like to drop to just one deputy overnight. Or none. All politics is local after all.
I do not intend to argue against defunding police. I’m very much in favor of it. I’ve also seen 911 dispatch readouts and can confidently say that many calls could be handled by social workers in this area, not police.
However, I would argue that Biden’s more cautious approach is one that takes rural America into consideration. He is against defunding, and actually supports the opposite. Biden wants more funding for police training and accountability.
It might accomplish similar goals (social worker first responders for one), but the distinction is important. And, I believe Biden’s message will be heard here.
Even here, folks are tired of the chaos. In 2016, this area went for 80/20 for Trump. Closing that to 75/25 turns Ohio from a red state to a blue state. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.
Just something to consider.
