Last week, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) just barely won renomination in her Democratic primary. Democratic leaders had failed to see it coming — that such a prominent member of the left-wing “Squad” could come within just 2 percentage points of losing to an opponent whom she had outspent nearly 3 to 1.
Don Samuels, a former city councilman, nearly defeated Omar in the very district where George Floyd was killed in 2020. Having campaigned previously against disbanding the Minneapolis police, Samuels ran a law-and-order, anti-crime congressional campaign. It was nearly enough to win a majority of Democratic primary voters in one of the most liberal cities in America.
Today Omar was asked directly about her anti-police position in light of the rise in crime in her home district and state, and suddenly, the reliably loquacious Squad member had nothing to say.
Video below:
Another video where she explains her “plan” to create new public safety agency:
— Shannon Ford (@h0memadetweets) October 6, 2022
One would hope that Omar’s near-death experience leads Democrats to be a bit more skeptical about the defund-the-police movement in which she has played such a large role. Alas, nothing else up to that point, not even the national crime wave resulting from their folly in so many of the nation’s major cities, had convinced them to give it up.
Late last month, Democratic House leaders wanted to do something to blunt charges that their party opposes law enforcement. Instead of passing just one more ineffective gun control law, they wanted to force a vote on a bill funding police departments. But Omar and other left-wing Democrats stopped them cold — the bill is almost as dead as the latest homicide victim in Omar’s district.
In the end, House Democrats passed an “assault weapons” ban by itself. This failure perfectly encapsulates the Democratic politicians’ untenable position on crime. They are tough on innocent gun owners who have never harmed anyone, yet soft on career criminals who do so habitually. They despise the police and the very necessary work they do to keep the streets safe, yet they also will not allow hardworking and law-abiding citizens to defend themselves from violent criminal predators.
To be sure, not all Democrats feel this way, but this is the ruling party orthodoxy. They are so cowed and intimidated by their party’s far-left woke fringe that they feel powerless to stand up for what is right, even against the violent career criminals who prey upon their constituents — especially their nonwhite constituents.
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion
