America -- After the Progressives Take Over

If you want to know what the United States would look like if progressives someday take over the federal government, just turn on your television set and watch the chaos play out before your eyes in cities run by progressives.

Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, is an interesting example of left wing delusion.  For about two months, protestors (and rioters) have taken to the streets and run roughshod in the city.

When Donald Trump sent in law enforcement agents to protect federal buildings, the mayor was incensed. Why?  Because, he says federal presence “is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism.”

Let’s see if we have this right:  Federal law enforcement officers – not the vandals -- are the problem.  Federal agents are the ones figuratively pouring gasoline on fires that the rioters literally started -- with their own gasoline.

“Nuts” doesn’t do justice to what passes for the mayor’s reasoning.

In New York not long ago police on the Brooklyn Bridge came under attack and were beaten bloody with sticks and clubs.  In Chicago, protestors who wanted to topple a Christopher Columbus statue threw rocks, frozen water bottles, fireworks and other objects at police, leaving nearly 50 officers injured including one with a broken eye socket.  In Seattle, where the mob had taken over a downtown section of the city, rioters recently went on a rampage and smashed storefront windows and damaged the Municipal Courthouse.

And this from one recent weekend, as reported in the Wall Street Journal: "In Louisville, Ky., a black militia that calls itself the “Not F— Around Coalition” lived up to its name Saturday when a member discharged a gun and accidentally struck three compatriots, causing non-life-threatening injuries. In Oakland, Calif., rioters set fires downtown Saturday night, including at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse. In New York City, demonstrators defaced police vans with spray paint and tried to smash their windows, while others lit trash cans on fire. Demonstrators carried out more vandalism at a federal building in Atlanta and a Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Baltimore."

In San Francisco, the progressive district attorney, says he won’t prosecute cases involving so-called quality-of-life crimes. "Crimes such as public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination, blocking a sidewalk, etc., should not and will not be prosecuted,” the D.A. said.

The coronavirus pandemic is bad enough.  Throw in the destruction at the hands of the mobs, and one of the things that made America great – lively, vital, dynamic U.S. cities – is suffering a serious blow.  Let’s hope it’s not fatal.

Progressives, as I say, are running these cities. They’re the ones reciting the mantra that “most of the demonstrations are peaceful.”

If progressive forces like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez have condemned the violence and destruction, if they’re as mad as hell about what’s going on, I guess I missed it.

As for Joe Biden, here’s what he has to say about the urban chaos:

“Our freedom to speak is the cherished knowledge that lives inside every American. We will not allow any president to quiet our voice.”

And what about all those cities where people are not protesting peacefully and respectfully?  Is it okay to send federal troops into those places to stop the destruction?  Maybe Joe will have to answer that at one of the debates – assuming (and this is a big assumption) one of the journalists asks him about it.

How this will play out in November is still unknown.  At the moment, voters seem to be more concerned about the coronavirus than the protesters. But that can change over the next three months.

By November there might be enough Americans frustrated and disgusted with the chaos in the streets, and that could get Donald Trump off the mat, which is where the polls now have him.  We’ll know soon enough.

But if not in November, at some point progressives likely will elect a president and a Congress and effectively take over the federal government. It’s bound to happen sooner or later.

Progressives already have taken over a large chunk of American culture -- our major news outlets, Hollywood movies, TV sitcoms, some of our top colleges. They’re the ones cheering on the “cancel culture” where you can lose your job for having an “unacceptable” opinion.  And when they’re in charge of the federal government, the future will look a lot like the present – the one we’ve been watching on TV.

But don’t worry.  As the progressives keep telling us: People are demanding change – “peacefully and respectfully.”

Just one question:  Where?