ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., goes after the “radical left” and the defunding the police movement with two 30-second TV ads released Wednesday.
In the first ads of the general election campaign between Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, the first-term GOP senator asserts that, contrary to the message delivered during the recent street protests, America remains “the shining city on the hill,” an example other nations admire.
“It’s up to us to protect what the rest of the world envies: economic opportunity for everybody, limited government, individual liberty,” he says in an ad entitled “Patriot.”
In “Justice,” Perdue acknowledges the U.S. needs police reform. But he takes aim at the idea of taking resources away from police agencies.
Instead, he calls for some of the same approaches advocated in the Senate Republican version of police reform legislation now pending on Capitol Hill.
“Our officers need to look more like the communities they serve,” he says in the ad. “De-escalation training is a must. Body cameras would help. Real police reform will make all of our neighborhoods safer and ensure justice for all.”
Majority Democrats in the U.S. House agree conceptually with many of the strategies contained in the Senate Republican bill. But while legislation the House passed in June would require police departments to adopt such police reforms, the Senate version would use incentives to encourage voluntary reforms.
Perdue won the Republican nomination for a second six-year Senate term last month, running unopposed.
Ossoff emerged with the Democratic nod from a crowded primary field, avoiding an August runoff by winning nearly 53% of the vote.