States controlled by the Democratic Party have been driving the middle class away with bad policies for years. But now that the consequences of these bad choices are being compounded by President Joe Biden, the harm caused by the Democrats’ far-Left drift is becoming ever more apparent. In some cases, it literally makes Democratic officeholders cry.
Massachusetts’s sanctuary laws this week forced Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA) to close a community recreation center to house migrants released into the country by Biden. “I get emotional guys, OK,” Healey said, choking back tears, “because I am committed to this. Little kids need to be able to breathe clean air. They need to be able to access swimming pools. They need lifeguards there who can teach them how to swim, and they need to have activities.”
Through June, the Melnea Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury, Massachusetts, will house immigrants who have been sleeping at Boston Logan International Airport. Healey will give immigrants, who illegally crossed the border, free legal assistance, healthcare, food, and jobs. Children born in Massachusetts get nothing.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) declared a state of emergency to address a health and safety crises unfolding in downtown Portland because of Oregon’s decision to decriminalize drugs. There were 280 overdose deaths in 2019, before the state’s legalization efforts. In 2022, there were 956.
“We’ve had three years of this law that has not delivered on the promise that voters thought they were getting,” Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton told reporters. Kotek’s emergency declaration does not include any measures to get tough on drug users. Instead, she is creating a “command center” to increase outreach to addicts, informing them of treatment, housing, and recovery services available to them.
South of Oregon, in California, Oakland lost another restaurant this week when a Denny’s that had been there for more than 50 years closed citing the “safety and well-being” of employees and customers as the reason for leaving. This comes after In-N-Out Burger closed a location nearby for the same reason. Violent crime rose 21% in Oakland last year, and robberies were up almost 40%.
“It’s pure fear,” St. Benedict Catholic Church pastor Jayson Landeza told reporters. “You’re always walking around with your head alert. Something as basic as emptying my garbage — the 40 steps it takes to walk from my rectory to the bin, I’m fearful for my life.”
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People shouldn’t have to tolerate their community centers being closed to house migrants and their downtowns filled with dead and near-dead drug addicts or fear for their lives when they take out the trash. In fact, many people don’t, which is why Democratic states such as California, Massachusetts, and Oregon are losing residents to Republican-controlled states. But not everyone has the means to escape Democratic governance, and we are all suffering under Biden’s refusal to enforce federal immigration laws.
Each of these problems shares a common factor. It is that Democrats think they can manage harmful behavior with generous services rather than deterrent punitive measures. In every case, leniency is enabling and encouraging more bad behavior. Until voters elect better leaders, expect more people to flee Democratic states, and life for all of us will get worse until there is a new occupant in the White House.