Democrats Invite Mothers Of Children Slain By Police To Speak At Democratic National Convention

ABC News: “Mothers Of The Movement To Speak At Democratic National Convention” The second night of the Democratic National Convention will feature “mothers united in grief over losing their children to gun violence or excessive use of force by police.” The group of seven mothers “said the conversation around gun violence and excessive use of force by police is now a little louder because of the recent deaths of police officers” and added that now “is a bad time to be a good cop in this country … We need to remember they have lives too." [ABC News, 7/26/16]

Right-Wing Media: “The DNC Theme Tonight Is Compassion For Criminals”

Rudy Giuliani: Inviting Mothers Of The Movement To Speak “Shows No Respect For Law Enforcement.” Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated that the Democratic Party is “very socialist” and “showing no respect for law enforcement” or “for our system of justice” because of the planned remarks from Mothers of the Movement:

RUDY GIULIANI: It shows you exactly what the very socialist Democrat Party has become. It's become a one-sided party showing no respect for law enforcement. Some of the cases you're mentioning, the police officers were found not guilty. Police officers in Baltimore, two of them now have been found not guilty. I believe the judge was an African-American judge. So, not only are they not showing respect for law enforcement, they're not showing respect for our system of justice. [Fox News, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, 7/26/16]

Fox’s Richard Grenell: Democratic National Convention Is An “Anti-Law Enforcement Rally” In Disguise. Fox News contributor Richard Grenell called the planned remarks by Mothers of the Movement an “anti-law enforcement rally” in disguise. Grenell added that while “we have some problems” with police-involved shootings, “we should zero down and not make this a national story”:

RICHARD GRENELL: Look what they're doing tonight. Tonight is an anti-police, anti-law enforcement rally disguised as “Let's talk about the victims,” and we’re not really going to get into the real information on each individual case of why -- look, police walk into danger every single day. I get that we have some problems, but we should zero down and not make this a national story. We should make this local law enforcement issues, not national memes about anti-police.

MARTHA MACCALLUM: Could you imagine how powerful it would be if you could get people onstage from both sides of that discussion? Because this entire place is surrounded by state troopers, police officers, secret service. These guys are working so hard, it's a hundred degrees out there, protecting the Democratic National Convention. And on the stage tonight you're going to hear from victims. Now, victims exist in these scenarios --

GRENELL: Absolutely.

MACCALLUM: And we all understand that, wouldn't it be pretty powerful if they had victims up there alongside members of those who are in law enforcement to try to bridge this gap? [Fox News, The Real Story, 7/26/16]

Frequent Fox Guest Sheriff David Clarke Claimed “The DNC Theme Tonight Is Compassion For Criminals.” Frequent Fox guest David Clarke said that “the DNC theme tonight is compassion for criminals,” claiming the Democratic National Convention is “holding up people who were involved in criminal behavior.” Clarke added that the mothers “are being held up as symbols, as the 21st century civil rights struggle, which tells me they're scraping the bottom of the barrel":

STUART VARNEY (GUEST HOST): Sheriff Clarke, what do you think about the speakers tonight, including the mother of Michael Brown?

DAVID CLARKE: I think it's a shame. Compare and contrast that to the RNC's theme of make America safe again. The DNC theme tonight is compassion for criminals. They're holding up people who were involved in criminal behavior, assaulting law enforcement officers. Many of them were armed. Some of them don't even fit here.

Trayvon Martin was not a police use of force, neither was Sandra Bland who hung herself, tragically that is, in a county jail. These are being held up as symbols, as the 21st century civil rights struggle which tells me they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. And we've come a long way. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 7/26/16]

Fox News Contributor Scott Brown: Honoring Mothers Of The Movement Is “Just Abhorrent.” Fox’s Scott Brown called the scheduled remarks by Mothers of the Movement “abhorrent”:

SCOTT BROWN: Don't forget, they're also honoring the mother of a young boy who was apparently slain -- apparently killed by a police officer -- was killed by a police officer, but he's not -- they're not honoring the actual police officers themselves who put their lives on the line every day. And that's just abhorrent as well. This is dysfunctional to say best -- to say the least. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 7/26/16]

Fox’s Greta Van Susteren: “It Looks Like” The Democratic Party Has “Taken Sides.” Fox host Greta Van Susteren claimed that inviting the Mothers of the Movement to speak shows that the Democratic Party has “taken sides” between victims and law enforcement:

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN (HOST): Randal, the police officers, a lot of them are feeling very burned because there are mothers of people who have died as a result of police shootings, but there are no mothers that, at least we know of, who are going to be speaking on behalf of the many police officers slain by criminals. And they're sitting out there watching tonight, and it doesn't look like the Democratic Party is inviting everybody, and it looks like they've taken sides. [Fox News, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, 7/26/16]

Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft: “DNC Convention Day 2: ‘Criminal Appreciation Night.” Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft wrote that the “Democrats will honor the mothers of dead violent criminals” by inviting the Mothers of the Movement to speak. Hoft labeled the second day of the Democratic National Committee as “Criminal Appreciation Night”:

DEMOCRATS TO SHOWCASE MOTHERS OF DEAD CRIMINALS AND BILL CLINTON TONIGHT—
You just can’t make this stuff up…

Tonight Democrats will honor the mothers of dead violent criminals.
Michael Brown’s mother will speak to the convention tonight. [The Gateway Pundit, 7/26/16]

Conservative Author Ben Shapiro: “So, Who’s Looking Forward To Hearing The Mother Of A Guy Who Tried To Murder A Cop Explain Why Cops Are Racist Murderers? The DNC Is!”

[Twitter, 7/26/16]

Democrats Did In Fact Include Law Enforcement In Second Night’s Lineup Of Speakers, Mothers Of The Movement Lauded Police

Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay: “We Can Respect And Support Our Police Officers While At The Same Time Pushing For These Important Criminal Justice Reforms.” Pittsburgh’s chief of police Cameron McLay spoke about the “crisis of trust in the police and the criminal justice system” that has taken hold in recent years, but contended that we must “fight our natural tendency to hide inside our own narrow worldview” and “seek common ground with the objective of creating an America that truly is and truly provides a source of liberty and justice for all”:

CAMERON MCLAY: Greetings, greetings. All across this country, my colleagues my brothers and sisters in blue are doing what I argue is potentially the hardest to job in this nation today. At the start of every shift, they go to work never knowing for sure what dangers they might face. And there is a crisis, especially in the eyes of many of the communities we serve, particularly with our communities of color. There is a crisis of trust in the police and the criminal justice system. Ironically, crime rates have been falling for decades butresearch shows the public trust is eroding and far too many places. Dr. Martin Luther king said it beautifully “True peace is not the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.” [Applause] Ironically, our communities are arguably safer than ever before. However, absence a sense of justice, less crime in your neighborhood is at best a hollow victory. The controversial officer-involved shootings that have occurred since Ferguson have created a level of tension between police andour communities while at the same time, there has been a great deal of work going on to improve those relationships. In Pittsburgh, we are doing this important work. We recognize our interdependency and we are working closely together to reduce the violence and make sure that our residents feel both safe and respected. [Applause] But things are fragile. Two controversial police shootings in two consecutive days in Minnesota and Louisiana left many outrage. The assassination of eight police officers in 10 days have left many of us in the law-enforcement community under siege.

Both of these concerns are very, very real. Without question, the criminal justice system has had a disparate impact on our communities of color. And yet society is asking at the same time far more of our police officers than ever before. Laid at the doorstep of police are declining economic opportunities, disinvestment in mental health, and the absence of effective drug treatment options for those addicted. As a police officer who has served more than 30 years, let me say this -- we can respect and support our police officers while at the same time pushing for these important criminal justice reforms. [Applause] We can do both and we will do both. I promise you there are many, many more police leaders just like me who are fully convinced and fully committed that we need to improve the integrity of our systems, but we cannot succeed unless we come together with the communities we serve. We must each, as human beings, fight our natural tendency to hide inside our own narrow world view. Instead, we must seek common ground with the objective of creating an America that truly is and truly provides a source of liberty and justice for all. I thank you. [C-SPAN, Democratic National Convention, 7/26/16]

Mother Of Jordan Davis, Lucia McBath: “The Majority Of Police Officers Are Good People Doing A Good Job.” Lucia McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, a teenager shot at a Florida gas station for playing music too loudly, stated that the Mothers of the Movement will strive “to keep building a future where police officers and communities of color work together in mutual respect,” adding, “The majority of police officers are good people doing a good job”:

Lucia McBath: We’re going to keep telling our children's stories, and we are urging you to say their names. We’re going to keep building a future where police officers and communities of color work together in mutual respect to keep children like Jordan safe. The majority of police officers are good people doing a good job, and we are asking -- and we are also going to keep using our voices and our votes to support leaders like Hillary Clinton, who will help us protect one another so that this club of heartbroken mothers stops growing. [C-SPAN, Democratic National Convention, 7/26/16]