Republican Club

By Brian Harmon

LW contributor

Volunteers at the Republican Club booth in the parking lot by Clubhouse 6 are giving away reasonably comfortable masks to all who request them. The booth is open every Monday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. until further notice.

The masks are made available courtesy of OC Board of Supervisors President Michelle Steel, a candidate for United States Congress in this district. As with most masks, putting tissue between the mask and one’s face will generally make it more comfortable as well as increasing its effectiveness.

In addition to giving away free masks, volunteers are selling flags, political campaign buttons, pens, tee shirts and red and blue hats.

“The really popular items are selling out fast,” said Republican Club Treasurer Elsa Gildner.

Volunteers are also giving away window signs that say, “Taxpayer Advocate Michelle Steel for Congress.” •••• Some people have expressed concern about hearing negative comments related to the growing support for a fresh look at policing in the United States. Some are also upset at those who believe recommendations being made by Black Lives Matter such as defunding the police will result in more crime, including murders. The LW Republican Club and the Republican Party favor reforms in the way policing is done, but what we do not support is defunding the police.

Reforms that the Republican Club supports include:

• More intensive police officer training in how to use less deadly methods to deal with suspects

• The use of realistic virtual simulators would increase the officers’ ability to know when, and when not, to shoot

• Research and training in better non-lethal methods of stopping criminals

• Getting officers to know their neighborhoods better through Community Oriented Policing • Better tracking of crime so that more police can be dispatched to areas where the most crimes are being committed.

These steps could dramatically reduce the number of innocent people being harmed or killed as well as reduce crime. But they all would cost money.

One of the things that the Republican Club does oppose is publishing the personal information of police officers who are accused of misconduct because it fears it could result in vigilante retribution against these officers.

We will probably never fully understand all of the factors that have caused the dramatic decreases in violent crime we have enjoyed over the last few decades. One thing we can be sure of is that defunding the police will not reduce crime rates or make people safer.