Consequential
I was 12 years old when I first visited Washington, D.C. I was a sixth grader then and part of my elementary school’s safety patrol trip. I remember little of that experience except climbing the 897 steps of the Washington Monument. To encourage his somewhat chubby son to exercise, my Dad promised me a dollar bill for every ascent of the national obelisk. I managed it once.
Since then, I’ve visited our nation’s capital many times to enjoy the museums and the historic, beautiful architecture. And once I played in a junior ice hockey tournament in the neighboring Fairfax, Virginia. But I wouldn’t go near Washington now because of the crime. However, after listening to President Trump’s Liberation Day for D.C. news conference last week, I might reconsider.
Dana Perino is a panel member on the FOX Network show “The Five.” Perino recently stated that she welcomed her move to New York City to escape the crime and danger of Washington, D.C. More dramatically, a young member of the DOGE team (aka Big Balls) was severely beaten while protecting his girlfriend in an attempted carjacking in Washington by a group of juveniles. Apparently, kids are used by gangs because if caught, they won’t be held accountable. As a result, juvenile carjacking is rampant, and even armed robbery or shooting someone is referred to Family Court.
Some years ago, an Afghan refugee, who had worked with Americans in Afghanistan, escaped the Taliban and was working for Lyft in D.C. when he was murdered by a 14-year-old. The murderer was given a 3-year sentence in the juvenile system because the judge thought the 1.5-year sentence was too little. Perhaps the Lyft driver would have been safer in Afghanistan.
Of course, these are sensationalized reports, but an ABC news anchor, Kyra Phillips, announced on air that she had been accosted and described “Washington is scary as Hell.”
It’s hard to know what is factual because crime statistics are politicized and allegedly manipulated. Most recently, the District of Columbia police union stated that the Metropolitan Police Department has falsified crime statistics to report lower crime rates. I don’t know the truth, but in surveying the liberal media, it appears that Democrats have found another “20% issue” to support, whereas 80% of Americans are in favor of anti-crime measures.
Washington, D.C., is a federal city, but, since Congress’s 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, it has been run by local politicians and shares the ills of many big cities, especially the ones run by liberal Democrats. President Trump announced Liberation Day for Washington, D.C., last week, vowing to address his campaign promise to fix the crime situation in the Capitol. Congress gave presidents the power to do this on a short-term basis, but if the necessity continues, relevant Congressional Committees must be notified and the need explained before granting the president more time to control crime.
In the press conference, the president was asked if other crime-ridden big cities might also be subject to federal intervention. Washington, D.C., is different because it is a federal city. However, the implication is that other crime-ridden cities “should learn” from the example of Washington.
Democrats whined that comprehensive immigration reform was necessary to fix the broken border. Trump proved that all America needed was a president to enforce the law. And in short order, Trump stopped the illegal invasion and is now arresting criminal aliens and deporting them. (Another issue that 80% of Americans support and Democrats oppose.)
One might ask why Democrats oppose such logical and common-sense policies. The answer is that the Democrats need voters to maintain power. Remember, the 2020 census counted illegals along with citizens, and population determines Congressional representation.
Furthermore, Democrats oppose voter ID, which largely curtails illegal voting. (Another 20% Democrat policy.) It’s all about power. Beto O’Rourke, the cicada-like Democrat who periodically surfaces to make noise, recently said “Who cares about the [effing] rules right now?”
(Sidebar for men: Have you ever been in conversation with a group of women and all of a sudden, they transition to another subject without a bridging segue and never missing a beat, while the guys are shaking their heads and lost in transition? I believe men are more linear in thought.)
As an example of the absence of a segue in this essay, my wife, Becky, avers that I’m easy on clothes and possessions. She may be right because I went to the eye doctor last week and needed a new prescription lens which is expensive. However, the frames that I’ve been using since 2013 were still in good shape, so I won’t have to double the cost with new frames. And I won’t have to change my picture at the top of this column!
Additionally, I’m not hip and don’t possess any fashionable T-shirts. And the ones I have seem to hang around for a long time. Last week, I was rummaging through a drawer for a night shirt and found T-shirts from mission trips to Guatemala and ski trips in Colorado from the 80s and 90s. I even found a T-shirt emblazoned with the Trump-Pence logo. If you take care of what you have, it may last long enough for Mike Pence to admit that he was wrong about President Trump.
Alert: a segue is in operation!
I’m glad that Mike Pence is man enough to admit his mistake regarding the most consequential president since Reagan, FDR and perhaps Lincoln and Washington. I know liberal heads are exploding right now, but if you don’t have TDS, you can’t deny that President Trump fixed the border crisis almost overnight. And he’s dealing with criminal aliens, continuing historic tax cuts, curbing the regulatory state, promoting energy production, rebalancing international trade and securing peace deals all over the world with his “commercial diplomacy.” Trump’s policies are refurbishing America’s industrial base and he is resetting America’s geopolitical stance in the world. He’s even affecting culture through the Kennedy Center.
Perhaps we are leaving Biden’s dark age and entering President Trump’s golden age. His common-sense America First agenda is good for us and the world. I believe President Trump’s successes have made his presidency one of the most consequential. You decide.
