Thursday, September 3, 2020

DEMOCRAT-CONTROLLED SANCTUARY CITIES OF CRIME - WHERE WILL THE DEMS TAKE THIS NATION OTHER THAN RUIN?

 

Almost All of America’s Failed Cities are Democrat Cities

That includes 42 of the top 43 centers of violent crime.

  

[John Perazzo is the author of Betrayal: The Democratic Party’s Destruction of America’s Cities and also of the Freedom Center's new investigative report: BLACK LIVES MATTER: Marxist Hate Dressed Up As Racial Justice.]

As Marxist and anarchist radicals continue to turn Democrat-run American cities into war zones, Democrats assure us that they alone understand how the current crisis can be resolved. White House hopeful Joe Biden, for example, vows that “as President,” he “will help lead” a national “conversation” about racial justice, “and more importantly,” he “will listen” to the “anguish” of the long-forgotten “little guy.”[1]

Biden’s “little guy” narrative blends seamlessly with one of the most widely accepted claims in American political discourse today: the notion that the Democratic Party is the party that fights on behalf of the common man. We are told that Democrats in public office advocate for a wide range of policies that would improve the lives of the poorest and most powerless among us.

With regard to crime, for instance, the Democratic Party Platform declares that we need to: end the “mass incarceration” that allegedly targets nonwhite minorities; “invest more in jobs and education” than in jails; eliminate mandatory minimum sentences; “close private prisons and detention centers”; “eliminat[e] the use of cash bail” because “no one should be imprisoned merely for failing to pay fines or fees”; and “abolish the death penalty, which has proven to be a cruel and unusual form of punishment.”[2]

Regarding economic matters, the official Democratic Party Platform explicitly pledges to promote “shared prosperity” by: “rais[ing] wages for working people,” “ending poverty” in “underserved communities,” and implementing “a comprehensive agenda to invest in America’s cities.”[3]

But in city after city where Democrats already have been in charge politically for an extended period of time, we find exceedingly high—indeed, often colossal—levels of crime and poverty that degrade the quality of life for the people who reside there. And the longer Democrats have dominated the politics of those cities, the worse the conditions tend to be. In short, Democrats have transformed a host of once-great metropolises into urban prisons where the “little guy”particularly the black and Hispanic “little guy” on whose behalf Democrats typically claim to speakhas been grievously harmed by one destructive Democratic policy after another.

The Most Dangerous Cities in America

Let us first examine the political leadership of the most dangerous American cities, large and small alike. “Danger,” for purposes of this analysis, is defined in terms of the number of violent crimes committed per 1,000 residents. Four categories of violent crime are included in these calculations: homicide, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. The statistics regarding the incidence of each of these crimes in each city were derived from FBI records and were published in 2019 by the custom analytics website NeighborhoodScout.com.[4]

The following chart shows the 50 cities that have the highest violent crime rates in the United States and: (a) have a population of 25,000 or more; (b) are governed by mayors who are clearly identifiable as either Democrats or Republicans;[5] and (c) have either a “Mayor-Council” (MC) form of government, a “Council-Manager” (CM) form of government, or a Hybrid (HYB) of the two.[6]  Of those 50 cities, 46 are governed by Democratic mayors and administrations; only 4 are governed by Republicans. Moreover, 42 of the top 43 are governed by Democrats.
 

 

Rank

Cities with Populations of 25,000+

Population[7]

Type of Govt.

Violent Crimes/ 1,000

Mayor’s Party

1

Detroit, MI

672,829

MC

20.0

Democratic

2

Memphis, TN

652,752

MC

19.5

Democratic

3

Birmingham, AL

209,403

MC

19.3

Democratic

4

Baltimore, MD

614,664

MC

18.5

Democratic

5

Flint, MI

97,379

MC

18.3

Democratic

6

St. Louis, MO

318,416

MC

18.2

Democratic

7

Wilmington, DE

71,455

MC

16.3

Democratic

8

Camden, NJ

74,417

MC

16.2

Democratic

9

Pine Bluff, AR

42,984

MC

16.0

Democratic

10

Kansas City, MO

481,360

CM

15.9

Democratic

11

S. Bernardino, CA   

HYB

MC

15.3

Democratic

12

Alexandria, LA

47,334

MC

14.6

Democratic

13

Little Rock, AR

198,546

CM

14.6

Democratic

14

Cleveland, OH

385,810

MC

14.5

Democratic

15

Milwaukee, WI

595,070

MC

14.3

Democratic

16

Stockton, CA

307,057

CM

14.2

Democratic

17

Monroe, LA

49,761

MC

14.1

Democratic

18

Chester, PA

34,133

MC

14.0

Democratic

19

Rockford, IL

147,404

MC

14.0

Democratic

20

Albuquerque, NM

559,270

MC

13.7

Democratic

21

Pontiac, MI

59,792

MC

13.4

Democratic

22

Kalamazoo, MI

75,988

CM

13.3

Democratic

23

Anchorage, AK

298,192

HYB

13.1

Democratic

24

Oakland, CA

419,987

HYB

12.9

Democratic

25

Indianapolis, IN

852,506

MC

12.9

Democratic

26

East Point, GA

35,282

MC

12.8

Democratic

27

Compton, CA

97,537

CM

12.1

Democratic

28

Battle Creek, MI

52,347

CM

12.0

Republican

29

East St. Louis, IL

26,662

CM

12.0

Democratic

30

Canton, OH

71,329

MC

11.9

Democratic[8]

31

Elkhart, IN

52,348

MC

11.9

Democratic

32

Newburgh, NY

28,363

CM

11.9

Democratic

33

Riviera Beach, FL

34,674

MC

11.8

Democratic

34

Wichita, KS

389,938

CM

11.8

Democratic

35

Jackson, MI

32,704

CM

11.8

Democratic

36

New Orleans, LA

391,495

MC

11.8

Democratic

37

Trenton, NJ

84,065

MC

11.8

Democratic

38

Jacksonville, AR

28,235

MC

11.7

Democratic

39

Nashville, TN

688,901

MC

11.5

Democratic

40

Lansing, MI

117,400

MC

11.1

Democratic[9]

41

Daytona B., FL

66,649

MC

11.1

Democratic

42

Albany, GA

74,904

MC

10.9

Democratic

43

Harrisburg, PA

49,192

MC

10.8

Democratic

44

Tulsa, OK

401,190

MC

10.7

Republican

45

Beaumont, TX

116,825

CM

10.7

Republican

46

Hartford, CT

123,287

MC

10.7

Democratic

47

Desert Hot Sp, CA

28,878

MC

10.7

Republican

48

Buffalo, NY

255,284

MC

10.6

Democratic

49

Gadsden, AL

35,000

MC

10.5

Democratic

50

Chattanooga, TN

182,799

MC

10.5

Democratic


The Cities with the Highest Poverty Rates

Now let us turn our attention to the political leadership of the large U.S. cities with the highest poverty rates in the nation. These are cities that: (a) have populations of at least 200,000; (b) are governed by mayors who are clearly identifiable as either Democrats or Republicans; and (c) have either a “Mayor-Council” (MC) form of government, a “Council-Manager” (CM) form of government, or a Hybrid (HYB) of the two.[10] Of the 50 cities in this list, 41 have Democratic mayors, and just 9 have Republican mayors.[11]
 

Rank

City & State

Type of Govt.

Poverty Rate

Mayor’s Party

1

Detroit, MI  

MC

36.4%

Democratic

2

Cleveland, OH  

MC

34.6%

Democratic

3

Buffalo, NY

MC

30.3%  

Democratic

4

San Bernardino, CA  

HYB

28.4%

Democratic

5

Newark, NJ

MC

28.0% 

Democratic

6

Cincinnati, OH  

HYB

27.2%

Democratic

7

Fresno, CA

HYB

26.9% 

Republican

8

Memphis, TN  

MC

26.8%

Democratic

9

Milwaukee, WI

MC

26.6% 

Democratic

10

Toledo, OH

MC

25.6%

Democratic

11

Baton Rouge, LA

MC

25.2%

Democratic

12

Philadelphia, PA

MC

24.9%

Democratic

13

New Orleans, LA

MC

24.6%  

Democratic

14

Richmond, VA

MC

24.5%

Democratic

15

Miami, FL

HYB

24.3%   

Republican

16

St. Louis, MO

MC

24.2%

Democratic

17

Hialeah, FL 

MC

23.7% 

Republican

18

Tucson, AZ

CM

23.4%

Democratic

19

Baltimore, MD

MC

21.8%  

Democratic

20

Atlanta, GA

MC

21.6%

Democratic

21

Pittsburgh, PA

MC

21.4%

Democratic

22

Houston, TX

MC

20.6% 

Democratic

23

Dallas, TX

CM

20.5%

Democratic

24

Stockton, CA

CM

20.5%

Democratic

25

Columbus, OH  

MC

20.4% 

Democratic

26

Boston, MA

MC

20.2%

Democratic

27

Lubbock, TX

CM

20.2%

Republican

28

El Paso, TX

CM

20.0%

Republican

29

Minneapolis, MN

MC

19.9% 

Democratic

30

St. Paul, MN

MC

19.9% 

Democratic

31

Norfolk, VA

CM

19.7%  

Democratic

32

Tulsa, OK

MC

19.7%  

Republican

33

Chicago, IL

MC

19.5%

Democratic

34

Tampa, FL

MC

19.5%

Democratic

35

Phoenix, AZ

CM

19.4%  

Democratic

36

Los Angeles, CA

MC

19.1%

Democratic

37

New York, NY

MC

18.9%

Democratic

38

Glendale, AZ

CM

18.6% 

Republican

39

San Antonio, TX

CM

18.6% 

Democratic

40

Bakersfield, CA

CM

18.5%  

Republican

41

Greensboro, NC  

CM

18.5%  

Democratic

42

Jersey City, NJ

MC

18.3%

Democratic

43

Sacramento, CA

CM

18.3%  

Democratic

44

Spokane, WA

MC

18.3%

Republican

45

Orlando, FL

MC

18.2%

Democratic

46

Long Beach, CA

CM

18.1% 

Democratic

47

Madison, WI

MC

17.9%

Democratic

48

Santa Ana, CA

CM

17.7% 

Democratic

49

Albuquerque, NM

MC

17.6%

Democratic

50

Oakland, CA

HYB

17.6%

Democratic


It should be noted that many of the cities in the foregoing charts have been governed by Democrats not just for a short time, but for many years, or even decades, on end. To cite just a few examples: St. Louis has been led exclusively and continuously by Democrats for the past 71 years; Detroit, 58 years; Baltimore, 53 years; Kansas City, 29 years; Wilmington, 47 years; Cleveland, 30 years; Harrisburg, 38 years; Houston, 38 years; Minneapolis, 42 years; Chicago, 89 years; and Milwaukee, 60 years.

Conclusion

The facts are crystal clear, and they are stunning. For decade upon decade, the Democratic Party has fed mountains of rhetoric to its many reliable voting blocs in scores of U.S. cities, assuring them of its deep and abiding concern for the lives of ordinary Americans. Yet it has delivered absolutely nothing in terms of measurable improvements to those lives. Instead, the Party has gradually transformed itself into a political wrecking ball whose only tangible achievement in urban America has been to perpetuate obscene levels of poverty, crime, and human misery. It is a shocking record of wretched failure that can be neither ignored nor wished away.

Why on earth would anyone believe that entrusting Democrats with the reins of governmental power on a national level, as opposed to a city level, would lead to a better result?

It is time for serious-minded individuals who may have long supported the Democratic Party for reasons they deemed worthy and honorable, to finally recognize that their party has failed and betrayed them so consistently and so monstrously, that they now have a moral imperative to walk away from it.


NYC’s streets are now too dangerous and too disturbing for normal folks to tolerate. If they’re not being attacked, beset, robbed, or murdered, they’re being disgusted. 

NYC August 2020 Shootings More than Double August 2019

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a press conference held in front of Gracie Mansion on September 20, 2019 in New York City. De Blasio, standing alongside his wife Chirlane McCray, announced his decision to drop out of the 2020 U.S. presidential race. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty …
Yana Paskova/Getty Images
1:43

August 2020 shootings in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) New York City were more than double the number witnessed in August 2019.

NBC 4 reports there were 242 shootings in NYC in August 2020 versus 91 in August 2019.

Moreover, the number of murders in NYC in August 2020 was 53 versus 36 during August of last year.

The New York Times reports that since May 2020, NYC has seen “a more than 140 percent increase … [in shootings] over the same period in 2019.” And there were 180 murders between May and August, a “51 percent increase compared to 2019.”

On September 1, 2020, Breitbart News reported that de Blasio’s NYC had surpassed the grim milestone of 1,000 shootings for the year.

The New York Post reported NYPD data indicated there were 1,004 shootings in NYC as of August 30, 2020. There were 537 shootings by that same time in 2019.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.


New York Had It Coming

I used to love New York City. There was so much to do and see, but if one were from the heartland like me, one could be perfectly content to just walk the streets and look at architecture and people. One might seek out venues one had seen in the movies, such as in Woody Allen’s Manhattan; perhaps Elaine’s. And when one got weary from walking, one could sit down at one of two, count ‘em, two major opera houses. And after a performance one might grab a beer at that joint across the street from the Met and muse about what a wonderful city one was visiting, where the Bronx is up and the Battery’s down. It really was a helluva town.

I used to love New York City, but there’s not much left to love. In the wake of the riots and vandalism things aren’t so wonderful in the Big Apple anymore. Some have said the city is dead and isn’t coming back. Indeed, on August 13, former hedge-fund manager, author, and bon vivant James Altucher self-published “NYC Is Dead Forever. Here’s Why” at LinkedIn. The article is blocked into several segments, including business, culture, food, commercial real estate, and colleges. It’s a longish article with three charts, but it’s worth your time, as it has insights that might be transferable to other cities:

NYC has never been locked down for five months. Not in any pandemic, war, financial crisis, never. In the middle of the polio epidemic, when little kids (including my mother) were going paralyzed or dying (my mother ended up with a bad leg), NYC didn't go through this.

Thousands of productive New Yorkers have left the City, and Altucher thinks they won’t be coming back. Even so, many are taking their jobs with them. They don’t need to commute to work, as they can telecommunicate to work. That’s because of the huge increases in bandwidth, Altucher tells us. Why ride the subway to work when one can fire up one’s computer and Zoom to work?

Altucher himself held out on moving from his beloved NYC until June, when the riots began. He has kids, and upon seeing videos of rioters trying to break into his building after curfew, Altucher had had enough and decamped for Florida.

Altucher’s article got a lot of buzz. The New York Post reprinted it in its entirety on then ran a counterpoint article by a Manhattan lawyer. At the Blaze, Glenn Beck read Altucher’s entire article on the air; it takes more than 14 minutes (it’s also here). On Fox Business, Maria and Dagen interviewed Altucher, and the first thing he went into was lost tax revenue, deficits, and mass bankruptcies. But here’s the thing, there was already talk of bankruptcy for NYC back in 2019. So although the lockdown was the fatal blow, NYC already had huge problems.

There’s one key word that never appears in Altucher’s article: “Blasio.” (To soften that observation for Italian-Americans, Mayor Bill de Blasio, the chief villain in NYC’s demise, chose his name; his birth surname is “Wilhelm.”)

So, is Altucher guilty of having voted for de Blasio? If he voted to re-elect de Blasio, then Mr. Altucher is responsible, at least in part, for the ruination of his city. Even before his re-election, this writer heard that virtually everybody in NYC “disapproved,” to use a kind word, of the mayor. Yet, he got a second term. Are we talking massive voter fraud here, or is the NYC electorate a bunch of dummies? (Back in 1972, the gal who had the role of Amneris in the production of Aida here in Kansas City was a New Yorker, and she told me that New Yorkers were quicker and smarter than folks in the Midwest. A quick glance at the fools New Yorkers continually re-elect refutes her assertion.)

NYC’s brilliant oh-so-sophisticated residents reflexively vote Democrat. Only when life in the Big City becomes too “unpleasant” will New Yorkers consider voting GOP. They did this in the 1990s when they elected a law-and-order Republican for mayor (Rudy Giuliani) to clean up the messes created by their previous voting mistakes. Rudy leads us to the main reason for NYC’s possible demise: the situation in the streets.

NYC’s streets are now too dangerous and too disturbing for normal folks to tolerate. If they’re not being attacked, beset, robbed, or murdered, they’re being disgusted. The streets are the problem that must be fixed before we can consider a resurrection for NYC. The psychotics, thugs, panhandlers, loiterers, tent campers, muggers, and everyone else making life in the city a trial need to be removed and never tolerated again. New York City was America’s premier metropolis. It should be reserved for “movers and shakers,” ne’er-do-wells should reside elsewhere.

Last year when hoodlums started dousing NYC cops with buckets of water and little was done about it, NYC’s fate was sealed. Giuliani would never have allowed the streets of NYC to descend into the chaos that de Blasio has let happen; Rudy would have stopped it cold. If New York is to be revived, then a new policy of zero tolerance for bad behavior must be instituted. Panhandling, public urination and defecation, nudity, sex in the streets, loitering, malingering, tent encampments, etc. should no longer be tolerated. If New Yorkers aren’t willing to forbid such things, forget about the city coming back.

New Yorkers need to redeem themselves. The destruction of their city wasn’t something that just happened; it’s something that they themselves brought about through decades of bad voting decisions. They need to start voting for decent candidates. Perhaps their whole municipal system of government needs to be scrapped. New York City needs to be reorganized in bankruptcy, receivership, or by some federal overlord. But there should be no federal funds for a bailout.

New Yorkers need to accept responsibility for the destruction of their city. That might start by electing Michelle Caruso-Cabrera to Congress for the 14th district. Yes, she lost to Sandy O in the primary, but she still seems to be on the ballot in the general under the Serve America Movement Party. Unlike Sandy Cortez (another Dem who changed her surname), Michelle is an adult.

If Sandy and the other idiots New Yorkers have sent to Congress are re-elected, then maybe we could sell Manhattan back to the “Indians.”

NOTE: That “joint” across the street from the Metropolitan Opera that I referenced in my first paragraph, well, I forgot the name. So I used Google Maps to find it, and it’s P.J. Clark’s. Fortunately, P.J’s may be surviving. At the top of their website, there’s a link on “What We’re Doing” that explains how they’re handling the lockdown. For a little amusement, you might click on this to go to a Google Maps image of P.J. Clarke’s, and then “twist” left by grabbing the screen (click and hold down your mouse), and then dragging the cursor right for a bit. You’ll be looking down Columbus Ave. going NE. Then put the cursor on the street and click a few times to travel down the street. Stop when you’re even with the white cop car on the left, and then twist left again. You’ll be looking at the Met. If you’ve never done this, you may find it amazing… and fun.

Jon N. Hall of ULTRACON OPINION is a programmer from Kansas City.

Image: Pickpik