The Patriot Post® · Defund Dem Gets Mugged by Reality — Literally

First things first: We’re relieved that Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon wasn’t physically harmed during her ordeal yesterday. And it was an ordeal. Being carjacked at gunpoint in South Philly is a deadly serious experience — much more so than, say, having a bunch of angry old white dudes with Trump flags and MAGA hats milling around in your office building.

“Wednesday afternoon, at around 2:45 p.m.,” according to a statement from her office, “Congresswoman Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in FDR Park following a meeting at that location. The Congresswoman was physically unharmed. She thanks the Philadelphia Police Department for their swift response, and appreciates the efforts of both the Sergeant at Arms in D.C. and her local police department for coordinating with Philly PD to ensure her continued safety.”

It was a rude welcome home for Scanlon, whose Fifth Congressional District includes part of South Philly. As Fox News reports: “Police say Scanlon was approached by two Black males, aged approximately 20-30, as she walked to her vehicle before they demanded she hand them the keys. Scanlon handed over the keys to her blue 2017 Acura MDX and one of the suspects drove away in it while the other drove away in a dark-colored SUV.”

Scanlon isn’t just any schlub, though, so police moved quickly. Last night, five suspects were taken into custody in neighboring Delaware after state cops found them traveling in Scanlon’s vehicle. It’s not yet known whether any of the five were directly involved in the carjacking, but it’ll be one costly joy ride.

Then again, it might not be too costly. Not if Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner has anything to say about it. Krasner is notoriously soft on crime — even for a leftist. And he’s in denial. “We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence,” he recently said.

Oh no? In 2021, Philly has seen at least an 80% increase in carjackings over its 2020 total. But those are just carjackings. Murders? “Philadelphia has seen a record 544 homicides so far this year, up from 347 in the entirety of 2019,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board writes. Much of this is attributable to the self-inflicted genocide of black-on-black crime. As the editors continue, “Police have recorded some 1,785 nonfatal shootings this year. More than 84% of the victims of the gun violence in 2021 were black.” Thanks a lot, Larry.

Krasner, though, might just throw the book at these thugs — you know, for appearances. Like we said, Scanlon is a very important person.

Those who think this was a rarity, a one-off, had better think twice. As Fox News reports: “Scanlon was not the first prominent Democratic official to be carjacked in a crime-ridden city in the last 24 hours. On Tuesday night, Illinois’ Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford and her husband were carjacked in Broadview, Illinois, in the Chicago area, where crime has been surging. … Both Scanlon and Lightford have been staunch supporters of police reforms in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.”

In the wake of the George Floyd killing, Scanlon wasn’t the only Democrat to demagogue the cops, but her harsh words are worth revisiting: “We have seen too many lives taken and communities devastated by police brutality and racial profiling. Action is long overdue. House Democrats are fighting for REAL reform in our country’s police departments.”

In February, Scanlon became one of the original cosponsors of the Mental Health Justice Act, which seeks to pair cops with “mental health specialists” as first responders. As reported in The Hill, “Congress wants to make it easier for state and local governments to defund the police by instead funding mental health services and empowering them to respond to emergency calls instead of armed officers.”

So Scanlon is a Defund Democrat — at least in deed if not in words. Talk about getting mugged by reality.

FDR Park, where the carjacking took place, is, according to its website, “South Philadelphia’s largest park and one of its most important public institutions, reflecting the remarkable racial, cultural, and economic diversity of South Philadelphia.”

It might well be all of those things. But thanks to a hard-left district attorney and the soft-on-crime policies of today’s Democrat Party, it’s also a dangerous place — even for a U.S. congresswoman.