Fmr. RNC Chair Barbour: Blue Lives Matter
Former Gov. Haley Barbour, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Republican strategist Lisa Boothe on the Baton Rouge tragedy, the presidential election and the divide in America.
A tragic shooting took the lives of three police officers in Baton Rouge over the weekend, heightened already elevated concerns over racial divides in America.
During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria, former Republican Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said it won’t be easy to bring the nation together, but support for law enforcement across the country is vital.
“Crime has become a huge issue in this country for the first time in a long time, and these murders of police officers have made that explosive,” he said. “Totally indefensible… blue lives matter. That’s something that’s been said. Of course all lives matter, but the people that protect us, provide our security—we owe them better.”
Barbour, who also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, added these clashes area “low, low point” in America’s history and called on President Barack Obama to speak out to strongly condemn the acts.
The former governor said along with crime, economic conditions in the U.S. have contributed to heightened tension – saying out on Main Street, it’s sometimes impossible to tell recession from recovery.
“Median household income is down, more small businesses are closing than are opening…most of the unemployment drop has been because people are dropping out of the workforce, not because people are finding jobs. So that and the increase in crime, the worry about national security—particularly terrorism [are contributing to the tension],” Barbour said.