>>> IN 2019 THERE WERE ABOUT
16,000 MURDERS IN AMERICA.
IN 2020 THERE WERE MORE THAN
20,000.
IT'S A 25% INCREASE IN ONE YEAR.
THE SAME TIME, THE PRISON
POPULATION HAS DECREASED BY
ABOUT 14%.
SAFE TO SAY THERE IS A SURGE IN
CRIME, ESPECIALLY VIOLENT CRIME
AND MURDER ACROSS AMERICA.
>> UM-HMM, REPUBLICANS LOVE TO
BLAME CRIME ON DEMOCRATS AND
LIBERAL POLICIES.
BUT HERE'S THE THING.
AMONG THE TEN STATES WITH THE
HIGHEST MURDER RATES IN 2020,
EIGHT, YEAH, EIGHT, YOU SEE THEM
ON THE MAP.
EIGHT VOTED FOR TRUMP.
THAT IS ACCORDING TO A NEW
REPORT BY THE CENSUS GROUP THIRD
WAY.
JOINING ME NOW IS EXECUTIVE
VICE-PRESIDENT FOR POLICY AT
THIRD WAY, JIM KESTLER.
JIM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
COMING TO "THE SUNDAY SHOW".
THE KEY FIGURE TO COME OUT OF
YOUR RED STATE MURDER REPORT IS
WHAT I JUST MENTIONED.
EIGHT OF THE TOP TEN MURDER
STATES VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP.
WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO POINT
THIS OUT?
>> JUST TO NOTE THAT IN TOM
COTTON'S STATE OF ARKANSAS, THEY
RANK NUMBER 9.
TWICE THE MURDER RATE OF NEW
YORK STATE AND CALIFORNIA.
THERE IS A NARRATIVE ON CRIME
THAT'S BOTH LAZY AND WRONG.
THERE IS A BELIEF THAT, YOU
KNOW, LIBERAL BLUE STATE
MARIUPOL SIZZ ARE LEADINGMAYOR
POLICIES ARE LEADING HIGHER
CRIME RATES.
WE FOUND STATES THAT VOTED FOR
DONALD TRUMP WERE MURDER RATES
HIGHER THAN STATES THAT VOTED
FOR JOE BIDEN.
WE JUST WANTED TO CORRECT THE
RECORD WITH SOME DATA.
>> AND DURING THE CONFIRMATION
HEARINGS FOR JUDGE JACKSON, YOU
SENT ME AN EMAIL AFTER I WROTE A
COLUMN ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE
REPORT WITH THIS PITHY LINE.
THE MURDER RATE FOR TEN GOP
STATES FOR REPUBLICAN SENATORS
ON JUDICIARY IS 35% HIGHER THAN
THE RATE FOR THE TEN DEMOCRATIC
STATES -- DEMOCRATIC STATES ON
THE COMMITTEE.
SO, AND THEN YOU ASK, WHO IS
SOFT ON CRIME NOW?
TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
>> YEAH, SO, LOOK, CRIME HAS
ALWAYS BEEN A POLITICAL ISSUE AS
MUCH AS A SOCIAL ISSUE.
AND REPUBLICANS FOREVER HAVE
BEEN TAGGING DEMOCRATS AS SOFT
ON CRIME.
I'M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WILLIE HORTON, MIKE DUKAKIS
WILLIE HORTON, MIKE DUKAKIS
1988, THAT SANK HIM.
SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT SOFT ON
CRIME OR HARD ON CRIME, THE
POLICIES IN THE RED STATES
AREN'T WORKING BECAUSE THE CRIME
RATES AND THE MURDER RATES ARE
SIMPLY HIGHER.
>> LET'S PLAY DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
HERE FOR A MOMENT.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO REPUBLICANS
WHO WILL, NOT UNJUSTIFIABLY
GIVEN THE DATA, WHO SAY, BUT,
BUT, CHICAGO.
>> WELL, I'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT
OF THAT ON TWITTER AND THEY'RE
SAYING, YEAH, IT'S BLUE AREAS IN
RED STATES.
I SAY, THERE'S BLUE AREAS IN
BLUE STATES, TOO.
SO, OF COURSE, THERE ARE SOME
CITIES, THERE ARE SOME BLUE
CITIES WHERE THE CRIME RATES ARE
VERY HIGH.
CHICAGO IS ONE OF THEM.
HOUSTON IS ONE OF THEM.
THERE ARE SOME REPUBLICAN CITIES
WHERE THE CRIME RATE IS REALLY
HIGH, TOO.
SO THE MURDER CAPITAL OF
CALIFORNIA IS KERN COUNTY, AND
THE MAIN CITY THERE IS
BAKERSFIELD, AND THE MURDER RATE
THERE IS TWICE THAT OF LOS
ANGELES AND TWICE THAT OF SAN
FRANCISCO.
BAKERSFIELD HAS REPUBLICAN
MAYOR, KEVIN McCARTHY IS THE
CONGRESSMAN THERE.
THEY VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY FOR
TRUMP.
WE'VE FALLEN IN RESULTS ON CRIME
AND MURDER.
LET'S SEE THE ONES THAT HAPPENED
IN THESE BIG BAD CITIES AND
PERPETUATE THIS STORY THAT JUST
GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
>> AND I JUST WANTED TO
HIGHLIGHT SO PEOPLE HAVE SOME
NUMBERS TO WORK WITH, AND THIS
IS PER CAPITA.
MURDERS PER CAPITA.
NEW YORK CITY MURDER RATE IS
5.9.
BAKERSFIELD, WHICH YOU JUST
MENTIONED, IS 11.9.
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, 14.
JACKSONVILLE, JACKSONVILLE,
FLORIDA, 19.7.
THAT IS THREE TIMES THE PER
CAPITA MURDER RATE OF NEW YORK
CITY, AND SO TO YOUR POINT AS
PEOPLE, AS REPUBLICANS ARE
TRYING TO LAMB BASTE ANYBODY WHO
IS NOT SOFT ON CRIME, THEY HAVE
A STORE TOY DEAL WITH IN THEIR
OWN BACKYARD.
EVEN SENATE MINORITY LEADER
MITCH McCONNELL WAS CALLING
JUDGE JACKSON SOFT ON CRIME.
KEN
KENTUCKY RANKS WHERE IN CRIME?
>> THEY'RE THIRD.
THEY HAVE THE THIRD HIGHEST
MURDER RATE IN THE COUNTRY.
IF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY HAD A
MURDER RATE LIKE KENTUCKY,
EVERYBODY WOULD BE AFRAID TO
WALK THE STREETS.
AND, LOOK, WHY THE MURDER RATE
IS SO HIGH THERE?
GUN OWNERSHIP IS MASSIVE IN
THESE PLACES.
80% OF ALL MURDERS ARE BY
FIREARMS.
AND YOU COMBINE GUNS, FAIRLY
HIGH LEVELS OF POVERTY IN THESE
STATES, A FAIR AMOUNT OF
DENSITY.
DOESN'T HAVE TO BE CITIES.
THAT IS AN INCENDIARY FORMULA.
THAT'S WHY THESE PLACES ARE
HABITUALLY HIGHER IN MURDER THAN
A LOT OF BLUE PLACES.
>> JIM KESTLER OF THIRD WAY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO "THE