During the 1992 presidential election, James Carville, Bill Clinton’s chief campaign strategist, created an internal reminder to keep the campaign focused on domestic issues. One bullet point from that internal memo has been etched into the campaign strategy of virtually every candidate, everywhere since: “It’s the Economy, Stupid.”
Today, a new message is gaining traction among candidates and voters. Spencer Pratt, the former reality television personality turned insurgent candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, has built his challenge to incumbent Karen Bass around a blunt message: “It’s the Quality of Life, Stupid.” Pratt’s campaign pledges focus on clearing LA streets of homeless drug addicts who choose encampments and fentanyl over available shelter beds. Implement mandatory treatment for public drug users, discontinue free dental care for meth addicts, and hold repeat offenders fully accountable.
Pratt argues Los Angeles already has sufficient housing and shelter capacity, yet more than 40,000 people remain on the streets because they want to use drugs without rules or oversight. He has pledged zero encampments, aggressive enforcement against public drug use, and investigations into what he calls the “homeless industrial complex” of NGOs and rehabs he accuses of profiting from the crisis while busing addicts into the city. His platform centers public safety and accountability for taxpayer dollars spent on failed programs.
That focus stands in sharp contrast to the rhetoric coming from far-left candidates like Francesca Hong, the socialist running for governor who has embraced “abolish the police” and “abolish prisons” philosophy. Such positions test far outside the comfort zone of ordinary voters who simply want streets that are safe to walk, businesses that can operate without daily theft and disorder, and a justice system that keeps violent offenders locked up.
Real-world results of soft-on-crime policies make the stakes clear. In Milwaukee, 34-year-old security guard and father of four, Dylan Plouff, was beaten to death on May 18 in the MacArthur Square parking garage after confronting Daniel McRae, who was attempting to break into vehicles. Plouff died from his injuries four days later. McRae, a repeat offender, had been released from jail six days earlier following a separate incident involving threats and injury to an officer. Prosecutors delayed charges pending medical records, and the sheriff’s office released him.
The same pattern of disorder is visible in Milwaukee’s entertainment districts and public spaces. Water Street, the heart of Milwaukee’s entertainment district, has suffered repeated shootings in 2025, including a recent triple shooting near North Water Street and East Knapp Street that killed 22-year-old Dylan Jackson and wounded two others. A separate incident captured on video showed a teenager pistol-whipping another youth and stealing his shoes. Coordinated “teen takeovers,” large gatherings of young people promoted on social media, have escalated into violence across the city and suburbs, with fights, reckless driving, vandalism, looting, and underage drinking and drug use spilling onto Water Street, Brady Street, Bradford Beach, and even into malls like Bayshore in Glendale, where dozens of teens aged 12 to 19 were arrested after brawls inside and outside stores. These incidents have left police outmatched and prompted calls for stronger enforcement and consequences rather than the reduced prosecutions and anti-police rhetoric that have defined recent progressive approaches.
Similar failures appear in neighboring Illinois under the SAFE-T Act’s cashless bail system, which ended cash bail in 2023. Local officials and reporting documented at least eight instances in roughly an eight-month period around 2025 in which individuals released pretrial were later charged with murder.
In the United Kingdom, bodycam footage from Southampton showed 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak, who was stabbed in December 2025, repeatedly telling officers “I’ve been stabbed” and “I can’t breathe” while handcuffed on the ground. His killer had falsely claimed Nowak was the aggressor in a racist attack. Officers dismissed Nowak’s pleas and delayed medical care, which resulted in his death. The footage triggered national outrage and protests over delayed aid to the victim.
These cases are not isolated. They illustrate the predictable outcome when elected officials treat violent crime as a social justice issue rather than a public safety imperative. Voters in general elections consistently reject extremes that prioritize offenders over victims or experiment with defunding police and emptying prisons. Pratt’s insurgent focus on clearing drug-addled encampments and restoring order in Los Angeles speaks directly to the concerns that decide races. Rhetoric about abolishing core institutions of law enforcement does the opposite.
