In the aftermath of the street violence in Cincinnati several weeks ago there has been a lot of talk about the need for political leadership changes in the city.
Many people suggest that we are going to see the voters of Cincinnati rise up in the next election and vote for leaders who support law and order and reject the woke policies and sanctuary city status that have been instituted in the city in recent years.
That is what should occur if common sense prevailed.
However, taking a look at what has happened in other large American cities facing similar problems it is not likely to get better in Cincinnati.
For example, let's look at the three largest American cities---New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles--and examine what we have seen as these cities deteriorated.
They did not reject the course they were on. They all doubled down on the failed policies by electing mayors that were even more liberal.
Eric Garcetti was Mayor of Los Angeles from 2013-2022. Like all other big city mayors, he was a Democrat.
Garcetti would be described as a progressive but he also was pragmatic.
When Garcetti left office he was replaced by Karen Bass. Bass is objectively much more liberal than Garcetti. She has been called a socialist and communist by some. Part of that is due to her many trips to Cuba over the years and the glowing words she used to describe Fidel Castro.
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Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles Credit: https://www.dailynews.com/2024/07/03/los-angeles-mayor-karen-bass-announces-her-2026-reelection-bid/ |
In fact, when Bass was being considered as a possible VP pick by Joe Biden in 2020 she had to say this to NBC News to tamp down that talk.
“I’m not a socialist. I’m not a communist. I’ve belonged to one party my entire life and that’s the Democratic Party and I’m a Christian,” Bass told NBC News.
There is little question that LA has gone further left as their problems have grown.
The same is true in Chicago.
Lori Lightfoot was a disastrous left wing mayor in the Windy City who had replaced establishment Democrat Rahm Emanuel.
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Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago Credit: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/09/lightfoot-chicago-teachers-deal-abandoned-526807 |
Violent crime went up 40% during the Lightfoot era.
The city's debt burden continued to increase to one of the highest of any city government in the United States. Much of that is tied to rich pension programs for the city's public sector employees.
What did the voters do when they turned their back on Lightfoot in the 2023 Democrat primary.?
They went even further left and elected Brandon Johnson.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago Credit: https://www.axios.com/2023/04/05/chicago-mayor-election-result-brandon-johnson |
Debt and crime in Chicago are even worse now than it was with Lightfoot.
The Wall Street Journal recently named Johnson "America's Worst Mayor".
Johnson believes the way out of the mess that Chicago is to enact a wealth tax on the city's residents.
Put aside the fact that a wealth tax might not be constitutional.
Johnson also seems oblivious to the fact that no one has to live in Chicago and have their wealth taxed away to pay for illegal immigrants, rich government pensions and failing schools .
Will the last person in Chicago please turn off the lights?
Finally, we have New York.
In the past, New York City was blessed with Mayors like Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg who were level headed and practical. They understood that public safety was the most important issue in any city. They used the police to get criminals off the streets and made sure New York City was an attractive place to visit and do business in.
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Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293671934922 |
New York City went from Bloomberg to Bill DeBlasio who was most interested in income inequality issues and had a contentious relationship with the police.
When he left office after his two terms he ran for the Democrat nomination for President in 2020.
DeBlasio regularly polled at 0% among Democrat presidential candidates including in his home state of New York. He was forced to drop out of the race after not qualifying for the debates and endorsed Bernie Sanders. What more do you have to know about De Blasio's political philosophy?
There was some hope for NYC as DeBlasio was replaced by Eric Adams who was a former police officer who ran as a moderate and stated he would be more serious about crime and public safety issues.
However, Adams got engulfed in ethics investigations during his term which hindered his effectiveness as Mayor. He saw his approval rating sink and determined he was not viable as the Democrat candidate in 2025. He is now running as a long shot independent.
To replace Adams, Democrats have gone about as far left as they can and nominated a candidate who openly espouses proudly socialist and communist policies---Zohran Mamdani.
In the past he has been a proponent of defunding the police and has shown disdain for private property rights.
His "big ideas" are to have city-run grocery stores and freeze rents for 2 million people.
Mamdani will be the next mayor of NYC unless a miracle occurs between now and November.
This is the most recent polling on that race.
No one should expect a miracle to occur in New York City.
Or for common sense to reappear in Cincinnati, LA or Chicago.
Why?
The simple truth is that the majority of the voters in these cities are voting for who is going to give them what they want.
Free stuff for themselves and illegals.
Promises that they will make the rich pay more.
Big pensions for public workers paid by everyone else.
Reduced police patrols and crime enforcement.
Low bail policies.
Legalized drug policies.
There is no longer a majority of voters living in big cities who believe in the things that we used to take for granted.
The majority in a democracy rules and the majority in these big cities are voting for the people that tell them they will give them free stuff and let them do whatever they want on the streets.
Those that have common sense get smaller every year as they flee these cities and the liberal policies for the suburbs or rural areas where they can feel safe and free.
That is the reality.
In the last presidential election 76% of the voters in the city of Cincinnati voted for Kamala Harris.
Sadly, it is not likely to get better in Cincinnati or any other big city.
It is most likely only going to get worse.
The math is inescapable.
A democracy gives people the government the majority wants.
It may not be what they need.
That is a big reason that our nation's founders established the United States of America as a constitutional republic which tempers majority rule with protections for minority and individual rights and attempts to limit government power.
The wisdom of our founders becomes more apparent every day as we watch what is happening in the nation's largest cities.