I’m sure I don’t need to do a full recap for regular readers as to how much of a mess New York City has turned into under the administration of Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio. Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-police riots taking place over the past weeks and months have only served to shine a brighter spotlight on his many shortcomings and failures. The rising crime rates this year have served as another stark reminder after years of decreases in all categories of crime. By this point, it would be shocking if at least some of Gotham’s denizens hadn’t begun to wistfully look back on the days when Rudy Giuliani was in charge. Over at Townhall, our colleague Ellie Bufkin touches on this subject, featuring a recent interview with America’s Mayor and his rather unflattering assessment of de Blasio’s tenure to date.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has had just about enough of Bill de Blasio’s failed leadership of New York City. Now, after weeks of de Blasio praising protests and issuing hypocritical threats against Jewish communities for breaking into their own playgrounds, Giuliani is calling out the current mayor’s plan to reform the NYPD as “off the cliff, left wing, ridiculous ideas.”
“[New York City] is being taken over by off the cliff, left wing, ridiculous ideas on law enforcement,” Giuliani said, responding to a report that violent crime and homicides have increased dramatically in the month of June.
Year over year, New York City recorded staggering increases in crime for the month of June. Just at the mid point of the month, there have been 42 homicides, more than double the 18 recorded in 2019 over the same period. Shootings have increased by 45 percent and stabbing incidents are also on the rise.
Let’s go to the Fox News video of the interview.
Giuliani reminds everyone that the “progressive” policies currently in vogue at City Hall are remarkably similar to those that were in favor back when he first took over as mayor. That was a time period when the Big Apple recorded more than 2,000 murders per year for a few years in a row. By the time he left office and during the early tenure of Mike Bloomberg (when he still acted like a Republican), that number was driven down to less than 300 killings in one of the biggest cities in the world.
Rudy accuses de Blasio and his allies of “ruining” the city for the citizens of New York. Looking at the hollowed-out storefronts, the smoking remains of NYPD cruisers and the stunning increases in crime rates, it’s kind of hard to argue with him.
But at the same time, who is really to blame here? I would suggest that Bill de Blasio is more of a symptom than the disease itself. Keep in mind that these sorts of policies and positions weren’t any sort of surprise coming out of left field after Hizzoner was sworn into office. These are precisely the sorts of social justice issues that he originally ran on and, for better or worse, he’s keeping his promises. They may have produced disastrous results, but he’s still doing exactly what he said he would do.
The fact is that the voters of New York City are getting precisely what they asked for. There was a time back in the nineties when New Yorkers were still able to evaluate candidates and go with whoever looked like the better choice. But as time went by, they grew allergic to the idea of voting for anyone with an “R” after their name. From that moment on, the Democratic primary races became a contest to see who could swing the furthest to the left. The winner of that race went on to become Mayor and implement extreme leftist policies.
When looked at in that light, it’s hard to have too much sympathy for the people of New York City. This is what you asked for. This is what you voted for. And this is what you’ve gotten in return. So if you find yourself pining for the good old days when Rudy was in charge, maybe you should rethink some of those choices. If not, enjoy the riots and the lawlessness. You brought this on yourselves.
