DEMOCRATS, I URGE YOU TO HEED THIS MAN’S ADVICE GOING INTO THE MIDTERMS: WaPo columnist argues Democrats ‘harming the criminal justice movement,’ moving in ‘wrong direction.’

Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. argued on Wednesday that the Democrats are “harming the criminal justice movement” and “moving in the wrong direction” when it comes to their stance on policing.

“Harming the criminal justice movement to gain advantage in intraparty feuds is petty and counterproductive. But that’s what happening, even if centrist Democrats don’t admit it,” Bacon wrote.

He noted multiple instances, such as the recall of Chesa Boudin, in which the left was losing ground in terms of criminal justice reform and said the dynamics in these situations were similar. “Centrist Democrats exaggerating the increase in crime, blaming not only the crime surge but also long-standing problems like homelessness and drug abuse on progressive reforms, and implying their left-wing opponents want to immediately and drastically reduce police spending with no plan to keep people safe,” Bacon argued.

He said centrist Democrats should use a different strategy that wasn’t “misleading.”

Related: 7 Minutes of Democrats Saying Defund The Police.