Federalism still matters, and the President should not run roughshod over the rights, powers, and authorities of the states and the people. Do we want a country where the President can just enforce anything by sending in federal troops anytime, anywhere, for any duration?
On the other hand, rampant crime in one city spreads to other cities and across the country. Should the United States tolerate an insurrection of violence in one population hub, only to watch it metastasize across the country? Race riots during the Johnson Administration and during the first Trump Administration justified calling up the National Guard.
Public domain image from the U.S. Department of War.
Those were explosive emergencies, though, and the states’ National Guard units participated in dealing with those emergencies. But what about federal troops themselves? Federal deployment should take place only in times of emergency or when federal operations are under attack.
Nevertheless, the discussion about whether to implement them in large cities dealing with rampant and rapidly growing crime waves deserves more attention. The crime wave is an emergency when you are victimized, and a victim doesn’t care about legalistic proprieties. The victim cares only that the crime stops and that he can walk safely in the streets once again.
American cities, run and run down by progressive Democrats, beholden to woke activists, labor unions, and white liberal hippie boomers, are a disgrace and degradation to our country. Their voters put wokeness ahead of reality, and the elected elites are not suffering the consequences of their terrible decisions.
However, one could argue that the voters should suffer the consequences of their bad decisions. And isn’t part of the problem in these large cities the fact that the government is making too many of the decisions to begin with—with the voters’ ballot-box approval?
Unfortunately, Congress cannot enact laws authorizing state governors to remove ineffective, derelict, or recalcitrant leaders when they refuse to do their jobs. Some states, though, have already enacted laws allowing governors, working with their state legislators, to check rogue elected officials.
Florida Governor DeSantis has routinely exercised this power, and the check on his power, a vote in the state senate, has upheld his decision to remove rogue or derelict prosecutors and convicted city councilmembers and commissioners. Elected officials shouldn’t have the right to harm others have the right to harm others because of bad voting choices.
Of course, the President does not have that authority, and would anyone want him to?
Nevertheless, the President still maintains the authority to stop insurrection and recurring violence, and he has the responsibility to ensure that the laws of the United States are faithfully followed. If President Trump wants to install the federal troops long-term in key cities, he must make the case for these efforts based on the spill-over effects of gang violence from one city to other states. Conservatives can welcome President Trump’s aggressive restoration of law and order, but we should not allow our federalist system to wither away under aggravated federal self-aggrandizement.
Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the president can federalize the National Guard to protect the civil rights of American citizens, for example. It’s a very tenuous argument, but allowing rampant crime (including foreign gangs) to terrorize Americans is a travesty. President Trump must argue at length that urban dystopias like Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans are violating the civil rights of their citizens because they are not free to conduct business or live their lives.
He should direct the troops to restore law and order for a month, then let Congress decide to reauthorize his mission. Chances are, nearly all the Republicans will support the federal garrison’s continued service as domestic law enforcement, while the Democrat minority will vote down this authorization. Republicans can then campaign on “Democrats want lawlessness in your neighborhood! Vote Republican if you want to stay safe!”
Blue state Republicans should vouch for President Trump’s increased federal forays into their states, then campaign on: “The Republican President protected your neighborhood!” This stunning replacement of crime and chaos with peace and prosperity could convince liberal voters to choose more wisely. Democrat mayors Karen Bass and Brad Johnson were the progressive candidates against a more moderate law enforcement pick. A more public-safety-oriented mayoral candidate could challenge them with “We don’t need Trump. Elect me to keep the peace.”
What has stopped urban voters from voting right—and Right? Progressive urban voters want safety for themselves, but they also want abortion, gay pride parades, and government handouts. The progressive mind needs to progress to the truth, recognizing that public safety requires responsibility and leaders who will hold the individual citizenry accountable; adopt a civic mindset to care for the community; and think about the future well-being of the city, not just the next handout, protest, or election.
The balance of aggressive law enforcement versus the threat to liberty and federalism versus ongoing lawlessness and loss of life is a delicate consideration. But a temporary foray of federal troops into crime-ridden cities is a better option than Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” ending, in which takers battle each other, and the makers take off to rebuild somewhere else.
Chicago politicians may not want federal troops in town. Chicagoans do. Gianno Caldwell, from a public safety think-tank, is urging President Trump to send in the troops, as well. This point of division could solidify a larger effort to clean up the pro-criminal madness of the Democrat party, or heal the myopic political blindness of Big City voters who are still voting D because they believe all the lies about the R.
Once again, the fault is not in status or the scene, but in the citizens themselves, for electing bad politicians and the corrupt political party—the Democrat party—which puts illegal aliens ahead of citizens, and criminals ahead of the law-abiding. If the residents of these big cities prize public safety and a return to natural law and order, they need to start electing Republicans. Until then, Trump should direct sparing deployments of the federal army in key cities. Hopefully, the voters will see the difference and vote differently going forward.