Despite calls to moderate, progressive House Dems elect police defunding proponent as far-left radical.

Greg Casar, the newly appointed chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, spent years as a City Council member in Austin and led the effort to remove funding from local law enforcement, boasting about it on social media at one point.

After drafting legislation in the Austin City Council, Casar wrote on X, exclaiming "We did it!!" The measure, which resulted in a more than $100 million cut in local police funding and an end to three incoming cadet classes, passed unanimously in 2020 following a series of police shootings involving people of color.

On Thursday, Casar was elected as the highest-ranking leader for progressives in the House of Representatives, with a unanimous vote from his caucus members. This move comes as Democrats are conducting a forensic analysis following the election and many have called for a more centrist approach in the future.

According to Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, Casar's history as a public official, particularly at the local level, does not demonstrate moderation.

Farris described what he did in Austin as that of a "far-left radical."

In 2017, Casar led a charge to reject a mutually agreed upon contract between the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association, resulting in a wave of retirements and hiring issues due to job security and benefits uncertainty for officers. Meanwhile, in 2020, Casar led the drafting of legislation to strip more than $100 million in funding from the police department, including the elimination of funding from three planned police cadet classes. Instead, the reallocated funds went to programs related to abortion access, affordable housing, and food security.

The City of Austin redirected certain 911 calls to mental health professionals and last year, a shortage of officers forced police to ask residents to call 311 instead of 911 if they were robbed near an ATM.

As a City Council member in Austin, Casar authored two "Freedom City" resolutions that prohibited discretionary arrests for specific non-violent offenses and mandated police to inform individuals of their right to refuse immigration paper requests. Additionally, Casar supported other policies during his tenure, such as a ban on non-lethal police weapons and certain chokeholds.

As a congressman, Casar has persisted in pressuring Austin's police force.

He urged the Department of Justice to investigate the Department's policies and practices related to excessive and lethal use of force, racial discrimination, and discrimination against individuals with mental health conditions.

"In 2020, there was a belief that the Democrats would flip the Texas House, and Casar was featured in several campaign ads by Republicans across the state. However, my Democrat friends thought that the "defund the police movement" was the reason Democrats did not win. I have spoken to several Democratic friends who believe that Casar was a hindrance to the state-level Democrats in 2020."

After the recent elections, Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont, was among several Democratic legislators who claimed that the party has lost its centrist, working-class base.

"According to Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., there is more to lose than to gain politically from catering to a far-left that is more representative of Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok than it is of the real world. The working class is not buying the elitist nonsense that the far left is peddling."

On the same day as Casar's caucus election victory, NBC News published a story about the sophomore congressman, who mirrored the views of other Democrats that a shift within the party is required.

"The Democratic Party must prioritize winning over being right all the time, according to him. This is not a left-right battle but a shift towards a more inclusive and relatable party, free from preachy and disconnected perceptions."

During a press conference after his victory, Casar stated, "If the Democratic Party was more like Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal and less like Joe Manchin, I believe we would have won this election." Jayapal, the outgoing chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has led efforts to defund the police, similar to Casar's stance.

Casar's office did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital's request for comment before the publication deadline.