In a narrow 51-49 vote (Sen. Lisa Murkowski being the only Republican “yay”), controversial Biden nominee Vanita Gupta was confirmed as associate attorney general, the #3 position in the Justice Department.

Sen. Chuck Schumer declared Gupta's confirmation as "very good news for the forces of equality and justice in the country," and said, “She can do her vital job, including dealing with the systemic bias we've seen in policing and in law enforcement throughout the country."

Sen. John Cornyn, however, accused Gupta of lying to the Senate to cover up her radical left record, including advocating for cutting police budgets. He said, "Sadly, I believe Ms. Gupta will be a clear and present danger to the American people if she's given the muscle and might of the Department of Justice, as well as the entire federal government of the United States of America."

Gupta denied that she will push to defund police, but only time will tell. If we’re lucky, maybe the disastrous record of cities that defunded the police will scare DC Democrats into rethinking their support for it. In an article on public misconceptions about police that I refer to elsewhere today, Kyle Becker at Trending Politics looked at the results in cities that slashed police budgets:

“Portland cut police funding and saw a startling 2,000% surge in murders. New York City, under Mayor de Blasio, reduced police funding and experienced a 127% increase in shootings. Minneapolis cut police funding by $8 million, while early 2021 crime data show a 250% spike in gunshot victims. In February, the Minneapolis city council backtracked and unanimously approved a $6.4 million boost in police funding...”

Becker adds that ABC reported, “Many cities that slashed police resources last year because of the protests, the pandemic, or both have poured money back into law enforcement to cope with a sudden surge of violence.”

Left unsaid in all this is who are the primary victims of this increased violence. They’re black residents, children and business owners. When activists demand that police be pulled out of black neighborhoods and defund police units dealing with inner city gangs, they are throwing law-abiding black citizens under the bus. It’s no wonder that black Americans are one of the fasting-growing demographics of people who are buying guns legally for self-protection.

And it wouldn’t be the first time…