Sometimes, political agendas completely defy the most rudimentary understanding of cause and effect. Such was the case in Washington, DC, this week, where the city council voted 12-1 to override Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto of a complete overhaul of the Capitol’s criminal codes to reduce penalties against criminals. Promoting the “overhaul” (read: “plan not to prosecute criminals”), Councilwoman Brooke Pinto insisted, “Allowing the veto to stand would be a significant step back in our work to modernize the criminal code, negating years of work, compromise and engagement by the council.”

While much of the political attention the first two weeks of this month has been on the second anniversary of the J6 protest and trespass cases, which resulted in the unjustifiable killing of one person in the Capitol building, violent crime in Washington surged ahead of last year. In 2022, there were 203 homicides in DC, and the city’s Metro Police union noted, “This is the first time since 2002-2003 that DC has suffered back-to-back years with 200-plus homicides.”

The leftist DC revisions come after two years of massive crime surges that were unleashed on the nation by Joe Biden and his merry band of Demos.

An inconvenient truth: The vast majority of that crime is committed by the racial constituency to which DC’s council is pandering: Black folks on Democrat urban poverty plantations. Fact is, a grossly disproportionate percentage of violent crime is black-on-black and black-on-white. Recent years have also resulted in record numbers of police killed in the line of duty.

Mayor Bowser declared: “This bill does not make us safer. … Anytime there’s a policy that reduces penalties, I think that sends the wrong message.” She also expressed concern that reduced sentencing appeals for those already convicted will overwhelm the DC courts.

Occasionally, even the Washington Post editorial board exercises a keen sense of the obvious. The editors cautiously opined this week, “D.C.‘s crime bill could make the city more dangerous.”

The record is clear: Those major U.S. cities with DAs backed by billionaire leftist George Soros, which have decriminalized even minor crimes like shoplifting as some sort of “equity and justice” farce, are paying a heavy price.

Turns out, failure to prosecute criminals and early release for those convicted actually increase crime!

Because Congress must approve criminal code revisions in DC, leftist Council Chair Phil Mendelson said that Bowser’s comments were “irresponsible rhetoric and it plays into folks like the Freedom Caucus in Congress who are going to use the mayor’s veto and her rhetoric against us.” Memo to Speaker Kevin McCarthy…

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776