Apparently, the Left has found common ground with the Right on one thing: safety. Voters in well-known liberal enclaves are choosing to hold their noses and vote red, at least this time around.
In New York City on Monday, a group of grocery store owners made up primarily of Latinos hosted a fundraiser for Kathy Hochul’s challenger Lee Zeldin. The effort added $70,000 to Zeldin’s war chest in the waning days of the mid-terms. The New York Post notes that 70 store owners paid $1,000 to back Zeldin at the event in Queens. Why? They are quite simply sick and tired of working for a living and trying to achieve the American Dream, only to have to constantly watch their backs. Nelson Eusebio, who is the head of government relations for the National Supermarket Association, explained that many Hispanic supermarket owners who have traditionally skewed blue are exhausted from the rising crime rate. Shoplifting, which used to be done as surreptitiously as possible, is becoming more and more violent, with storeowners getting into fights with violators. The store owners have heard from Democrats that bail reform has not created any public safety problems. Their own experiences serve as evidence to the contrary.
Zeldin has said that he will reverse course when it comes to cash bail and related problems in the Empire State, which includes a promise to fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Related: The Crime Issue Is Driving the NY Governor’s Race and the GOP Is Benefiting
Moving west, we arrive in Illinois. Prosecutors who lean to the left and the right are becoming increasingly nervous about the impending implementation of the SAFE-T Act. National Review quotes Thomas Haine, the Republican state attorney in Madison County, as saying: “As far as I can tell, it is the first complete elimination of cash bail. From my mind, it’s the story of the century. You have a complete revolution in the cash-bail set-up in Illinois that was passed without any understanding of what it contained.” Former Cook County legal officials Daniel M. Locallo, Daniel Kirk, and Alan Spellberg, writing in an op-ed for the Chicago Sun-Times, explained that the bill, which clocks in at a hefty 764 pages, was introduced in the Illinois Senate at 4 a.m. An hour later it passed and then passed the House by 11 the same morning. The trio argues that the bill amends the state’s constitution via law, which cannot be done. They explain that furthermore, the Illinois Constitution states: “Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject.” Locallo, Kirk, and Spellberg observe that the SAFE-T Act “addresses abolition of cash bail, police training, complaints against police officers, use of body cameras, how a judge must evaluate a petition for detention, cancellation of automobile insurance and how the State Board of Elections should gather demographic data to determine legislative districts.”
That is in addition to the effects the act will have on crime. For example, along with eliminating cash bail, under the law, the fact that a person has a history of not appearing in court is not enough to have them treated as a flight risk. Additionally, the violation of an electronic monitoring order only kicks in after 48 hours.
Finally, we land on the nation’s Left Coast. If ever there was a haven or even heaven for left-wing ideology and living, it would be Oregon. Gun control, climate change, and all of the greatest liberal hits hold sway in the Beaver State. But even residents there have had it up to their hairlines with crime and homelessness. Journalist Leighton Woodhouse talked with a resident from a community of houseboats on the Columbia River. The people who are rich enough and fortunate enough to enjoy such lifestyles are experiencing firsthand the effects of some of the policies that they have supported — policies that up until now largely affected others. One resident told Woodhouse that downtown Portland, once home to fun and interesting shops and restaurants, is now a war zone. The murder rate in Portland continues to climb. Residents say the Antifa presence looms heavily over the city.
A large homeless camp was at one time located just across the street from the houseboats. Residents of the camp were breaking windows and invading homes. The homeless were stealing catalytic converters before moving on to taking the cars, and even abducting pets and holding them for ransom. Gunfire and the smell of meth labs permeated the air. When the labs blew up, firefighters would not respond because it was too dangerous to enter the camp.
One Portland resident told Woodhouse “It’s single-party control. Things are going downhill: inflation, crime, homelessness, addiction, overdoses. Here in Oregon, look outside—you see the homelessness, people dying in the streets from overdoses, people having psychotic breaks. It’s in shambles right now. It wasn’t always like this.” The man is a lifelong Democrat who is now backing GOP gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan.
Many on the Left are realizing that the promises made by their leaders are not coming true and that for that matter, their leaders never had any real intention of making them come true.
Oddly enough, in the past, there has been criticism from some on the right that conservatives would not be able to reach across the aisle, and that for too long, they had simply wanted to be left alone to live their lives in peace. As it turns out, that is becoming a bridge issue some thought would never exist.
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