Tammy Bruce: Democrats exploit cities — They've ruled for decades but guess who they blame for problems?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This column originally appeared in the Washington Times.
There are many tragic ironies unfolding since even before the death of George Floyd. As we see sincere people demonstrating for change in this country regarding how people of color are treated within policing and the justice system, Democrats and left-wing leadership see this righteous activism as an opportunity to reinforce the status quo.
I say this as a former community organizer for the left a great deal of my adult life. Whenever there was an issue on which people could be “organized” the goal was always to increase that rage and concern in order to access as many people as possible.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For the Democrats, marches based on outrage and people gathering to protest are the most effective means with which to gather names and to expand political influence. The horrible irony is the passion of these well-meaning citizens is being exploited by the Democrats and their "social justice" handmaidens to actually maintain the political status quo.
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In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, millions and millions of corporate dollars are pouring into the Democratic and left-wing establishment “social justice” organizations. Once again, the good intention is to help spur “change” in the inner city and for people of color in this country after watching, for decades, nothing improve for people in cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Baltimore and Detroit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Voter registration efforts are a focus of the Black Lives Matter organization, the NAACP, and other Democratic-allied organizations. The message seems to be that the more you vote if you are a person of color in an urban area, the more your voice will be heard and the better your life will become.
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But how has that been working out? Is the suffering endured by people living in cities run by Democrats somehow going to change by voting in more of the same?
The arterial message with Democratic crisis voter registration is that it is Republicans who are evil and at fault. All of this is Donald Trump’s fault, and voting in more Democrats like Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Keith Ellison is going to, somehow, improve everyone’s lot in life.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But that, of course, is a lie. The cities suffering with the most economic and social injustice are cities that have been controlled by the Democratic establishment for years, and in most cases, for decades.
Chicago has been controlled by Democratic mayors for 89 years. Detroit for 58 years. Baltimore for 53 years. Washington, D.C., for 53 years. Minneapolis, with George Floyd’s killing the spark of the latest demand for change, has been controlled by Democrats for 42 years. Los Angeles for 19 years. And New York, in the latest round of disastrous governance, has suffered under Bill de Blasio for six years.
The messaging from both the Democrats and the media is that Donald Trump, the guy who’s been in office for three years, is the source of all the injustice — or so say the people in charge for half a century or longer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s not surprising that those responsible for the continuing decline of America’s great urban areas would like their constituents to look elsewhere to blame.
It’s not surprising that those responsible for the continuing decline of America’s great urban areas would like their constituents to look elsewhere to blame. The attempt to deflect and accuse others for the continuing decline of urban America has been generally successful. After all, why else would cities like Chicago and Minneapolis and Baltimore keep voting in their tormentors?
One tactic is to promote extremes accusing others for the disasters, issuing slogans like “Defund the Police” so real policy solutions won’t be discussed. The emotional reaction also keeps local constituencies from looking at their local failed and culpable leadership that is directly responsible for the untenable situation.
This circus is made possible in large part because Democrats are very good at deflection, theater and stunts, and their compliant media loves covering it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., a city facing many economic and social problems, and led by Democratic mayors for over half a century, decided to paint a massive “Black Lives Matter” banner on the street leading to the White House.
When it comes to stunts, that’s a good one. It is the ultimate in what I term “Patronizing Mayhem,” where politicians give the impression of acting on a problem with one hand while maintaining the pain with the other.
Many community activists are beginning to recognize and admit that, despite (or because) of decades of Democratic leadership and involvement of so-called social justice organizations, the lives of people of color have not gotten better in the inner city. And even some of the deflected blame may not be the core of the problem.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to The Washington Post, there were 15 fatal shootings of unarmed black men by police in 2019. Even one is too many, but the messaging has been that the police are responsible for a “genocide” of African-Americans in this country.
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There has been massive suffering and death in the black communities in this country, that is true. But the question remains, why?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Chicago Sun-Times reported the grim news of what that great American city still endures. “From 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, through 11 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 25 people were killed in the city, with another 85 wounded by gunfire …” The newspaper tells us this was the most violent day in 60 years in that city, and it wasn’t due to police shootings.
“‘If immediate action isn’t taken to address systemic racism, poverty and ‘black folks being shot down and killed out here like dogs,’ [Rev. Michael] Pfleger said the last weekend in May will merely serve as a ‘coming attraction of what’s going to happen next.’”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Is it finally becoming undeniable that if Chicagoans want to genuinely address the systemic problems of their city, they will have to look directly at the Democratic leadership they have relied upon for 83 years — the same Democratic leadership at the city and state level controlling the social policies destroying lives.
For those living in the inner city, the corporations that are sending millions to groups like the ACLU, Black Lives Matter and the NAACP, among others, are doing so with the intent to improve peoples’ lives. The past, however, indicates they are instead funding efforts invested in the political status quo keeping people trapped in cities where generations of lives have been lost to self-obsessed politicians and a political party that sees the suffering of people as a political necessity.