Billy Long: Democrats are cheering on the violent ransacking and destruction of our cities

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

Last week, I explained how several Democrat Governors grossly mismanaged COVID-19 and how their incompetent decisions led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of vulnerable nursing home residents and staff. 

Apparently, their poor leadership was not an isolated incident. For the last several months, the defunding the police movement has picked up steam with many on the radical left believing that drastically cutting back funding for our police departments would be a viable solution to addressing police brutality. 

What’s most concerning about this growing movement is not just the abundant lack of logic applied to this so-called solution, but the unwillingness of leading Democrats to condemn the violent acts being perpetrated across the nation. 

Let me be clear, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for president, Joe Biden, is not in favor of defunding the police; all he wants to do is “redirect resources.” 

Defund? Redirect? I’m sorry, but as my Granddad used to say, “it’s six of one and a half dozen of the other.”

Though the vast majority of Democrats have stayed suspiciously silent on the issue, three top Democrats have issued statements in the last month excusing these criminal acts. 

“People will do what they do,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered as a weak justification of violent mobs unlawfully tearing down statues, as if that were a reasonable or relevant excuse for breaking the law. Further, it is deeply troubling that these elected officials would give consent, passive or otherwise, for citizens to lawlessly and violently destroy their own cities, effectively compromising the safety of their constituents.

Democratic strongholds like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles have all seen considerable rises in violence, but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to offer economic circumstances as an excuse to justify crime rates in her city, adding that people were facing a level of “economic desperation” that hadn’t been seen since the recession, despite evidence to the contrary. 

Even if that were the case, it’s completely unreasonable to insinuate that committing a violent crime due to economic stressors is justifiable, and the fact that Democrats at all levels have done nothing to address these alarming trends within their own communities is deeply disappointing and concerning. And, it’s not letting up. 

As recently as July 19, Fox News reported, “At least two people were arrested in Seattle and a dozen police officers were injured – including one who was hospitalized – on Sunday, after a march through downtown devolved into property damage and looting, police say.” Apparently, it is easy to confuse a box of Wheaties with an athlete wearing Nikes on the front with a box of actual Nikes.

In a bizarre twist of events, some Seattle residents seized several city blocks in June and established their own “community” dubbed, “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) where its new “residents” attempted to “out-woke” each other in viral videos. 

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan offered praise instead of intervention, calling the movement “patriotic” and saying it could turn into “a summer of love.” The only love that was shown was to funeral directors as people started dying violently inside of their autonomous zone of love. 

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser took a similar approach, doing little to dissuade a similar “autonomous zone” set up near the White House. 

While Democrats from local leadership on up seem to have no problem with these movements despite their violent tendencies, I believe that we must restore law and order to our cities and send a clear message that violence and looting is not an acceptable or appropriate form of protest.

Fortunately, President Trump does not share Democrats’ passive stance on spikes in violent crimes and has announced Operation Legend, a full court press initiative to combat rising crime rates in our cities. The president’s efforts to restore law and order includes sending 100 federal agents to cities like Kansas City, Portland, and Chicago, and will effectively address exploding crime rates. While President Trump’s response has been met with criticism, it’s important to remember that his intervention only became necessary because state and local democratic leaders failed to take action.

I believe that criminal activity, even if it’s done to make a point, is unacceptable, and I will continue working to offer support to cities grappling with violent unrest. The violent ransacking and destruction of our cities is inexcusable, and it’s unconscionable that Democrat leaders would not only justify this behavior but, in some instances, cheer it on. It is becoming more evident that these Democrat leaders are either unable or unwilling to uphold their duty to protect their constituents, and I encourage them to seriously reconsider their passive decisions for the sake of the communities they serve.