According to Wikipedia: “The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, .... The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, . . .. In addition, the mayor oversees all district services, public property [my emphasis], police and fire protection, most public agencies, and the public school system within the District of Columbia.”
It may surprise readers to know that during much of its history Washington did not have the same kind of government as most American cities. The District was created from land ceded to the Federal Government by two states, Maryland and Virginia, and it was to be the home of the Congress, Supreme Court, and the residence of the President. No mayor would have such power as to impede the workings of the national government. Later, national monuments, foreign embassies, and other activities emphasized that Washington, D. C., was more than just another city, it was a national city, the nation's capital.
It was not until the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and discussions of voting rights for Blacks that the political climate changed. Many local questions were still handled by Congressional committees. Wikipedia summarizes what happened after President Richard Nixon's landslide victory of 1972: “In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and 13-member district council, with the first elections to take place the following year. Incumbent mayor-commissioner Walter Washington was elected the first home-rule Mayor of the District of Columbia on November 5,1974. He took office on January 2, 1975, heading the district's first popularly-elected government in over a century.” So, although Washington is an old city, it has been electing mayors and councilmen like other cities for only 45 years. It is not a state; not a regular city; it is the nation's capital, with all the nation's major offices, libraries, museums, and monuments. It is a jewel of the nation.
But some seemed to misuse the jewelry box. Again, from Wikipedia, which is not a right-wing site: “The local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Washington's successor, Marion Barry (1979–1991), was criticized for mismanagement and waste. Barry defeated Mayor Washington in the 1978 Democratic Party primary. Barry was then elected mayor, serving three successive four-year terms. During his administration in 1989, The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the district had 'the worst city government in America'. After being imprisoned for six months on misdemeanor drug charges in 1990, Barry did not run for reelection.[9] In 1991, Sharon Pratt Kelly became the first black woman to lead the district. Barry was elected again in 1994, and by the next year the district had become nearly insolvent.”
The Federals came to the rescue and for several years had to oversee Washington's expenditures, and by 2001, the District was again in charge of its own finances. In 2014 Muriel Bowser became mayor for a 4-year term, and was re-elected in 2018. In 2020 in Minneapolis a large Black man who had been using drugs sought to pass a counterfeit $20. When police came to apprehend him, the senior officer led the other 3, one rookie had only be on the job a few days, in showing the techniques to down a large, hostile and unruly individual. Others videotaped pieces of the action. Bottom line, Officer Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck until the man died.
With much of the nation's youth in lock down because of the corona virus, unable to see each other at school, at the playground, at the basketball game, or the baseball game or even the soccer game, suddenly there were calls to protest the murder they all saw on tv. Get outside, see your friends, and protest the police murder of George Floyd. The George Soros funded machines sped into operation to lead the protests, Black Lives Matter, Anti-Fa, and local groups suddenly rose to channel the youth into protest areas. The protests began in Minneapolis, home of the Floyd incident, but national media (liberal Democratic and leftist biased) promoted the riots as justified reaction to the police brutality. Suddenly there were protests in cities throughout the nation, and youths met their friends again, ignored the virus, and had a great time chanting together, all in favor of “justice,” against kneeling on a suspects neck, of allowing perps to breathe, etc. In Minneapolis, the protests had turned violent, breaking show-windows, breaking into stores, looting, burning the stores. The “peaceful” protests, became anything but; a difference of day and night; often peaceful by day, violent by night. The same pattern spread faster than a virus throughout the nation.
Then
the protests hit Washington, D.C. The Wikipedia entry on George
Floyd Protests in Washington, D.C., provides basic information.
“Washington,
D.C.,
the capital of the United States, has seen a series
of protests following
the killing
of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Most of the events were peaceful, while some involved violence and
looting.” After the general description, the entry goes into daily
detail. May 29:
“The White
House was
on lockdown the
night of May 29 in response to protests reaching the gates. The
protests begun at 7:00 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., the White House
lockdown was lifted as protesters began to leave. At 10:00 p.m.,
the protesters returned however by 3:30 am Saturday the protesters
were more subdued. The protesters came into conflict with the United
States Secret Service.
At times, the protesters got close enough to inflict minor injuries
on certain officers. At one point the protesters were pepper sprayed
Several
Secret Service agents reportedly suffered broken bones due to rocks
and bottles of urine and alcohol thrown at them by rioters.
“As
a result of the protests, the Secret Service rushed President Donald
Trump to
shelter in the White House underground bunker,
where he remained for almost one hour.
This
occurred after some protesters crossed temporary barricades set up
near the Treasury Department buildings. Around that time, the Secret
Service alert level was raised to 'red'. The president's wife and son were
also brought to the bunker.
Trump
later falsely claimed that he had only gone to the bunker for an
'inspection', and also claimed that he was in the bunker 'for a tiny,
little short period of time'.
Attorney
General William Barr later stated that the May 29 protests 'were so
bad that the Secret Service recommended that the President go down to
the bunker'.
“President
Trump responded to the White House protesters on Twitter, saying that
if they had crossed the White House fence they would have been
attacked by 'the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons'. He
also stated that 'many Secret Service agents [are] just waiting for
action', and accused the protesters of being 'professionally
organized'. The Secret Service reported that six people were
arrested in Lafayette Park. D.C. Metro Police and US Park Police were
also on the scene.”
A
founder of Wikipedia complained a few months ago that the institution
now leans too far to the left.
It is not a right-wing news outlet. Yet, in its description of
events on the first night of the “mainly peaceful protests,” the
President and his family had to be escorted to an underground bunker
because of the physical threats posed by the subversive mobs
outside the White House. Though Trump lied about the bunker, that he
had to leave his home with his wife and son because of such a
hostile, violent mob, is itself a disgrace.
Wikipedia
describes the events of May 30: “Protesters
gathered around the White House again on May 30.
Police
vehicles were damaged with one protester graffitiing words
disparaging the President.
Monuments
on the National
Mall including
the Lincoln
Memorial and National
World War II Memorial were
defaced.”
For
June 30, Wikipedia adds: “In response to violent protests, Mayor
Bowser announced a citywide curfew from 7pm to 6am, which remained in
effect through June 3. An additional curfew from 11pm to 6am was
added for the night of June 3.
“Amid
ongoing protests, U.S.
Park Police and National
Guard troops
used tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, stingball grenades,
horses, shields and batons to clear peaceful demonstrators
from Lafayette
Square and
surrounding streets, creating a path for President Trump to walk
to St.
John's Episcopal Church.
Trump
held a bible and posed for photos in front of the church, which was
damaged in a fire during protests on May 31.
The
enforcement action was seen by many as excessive and an affront
to First
Amendment rights
of peaceful protesters.
The
U.S. Park Police disputes this interpretation of events.”
The
media, generally leftist, continually reported that the Lafayette
Park protestors were peaceful, yet Atty. Gen. Barr asserted that the
Park Service had found many objects that could be used as weapons
from metal bars to stones and bottles. Barr accompanied Trump on
this walk to the Episcopal Church, which had historic value and
called “The President's Church.” Yet, the mob the previous night
had attempted to burn it. The female Bishop of that church
complained about Trump's photo opportunity. Yet, if the mob came
again, would she defend her church? Could she? Could she rely on
the liberal Democrat Mayor to do so?. The Trump walk to the church,
and the clearing of the rabble from the park, may well have occurred
after curfew. Was the Democratic Mayor ordering the arrest of the
curfew violators?
Wikipedia
describes some of the events of June 2: “On Tuesday, up to 2,000
people demonstrated, the largest crowd up to that date.
Senator Elizabeth
Warren and
her husband Bruce
H. Mann spoke
with protesters. The protests centered on Lafayette Square in front
of the White House, and also included a march to the Capitol
Building.
. . .
“Overall,
federal
law enforcement presence was notably increased, which Mayor Muriel
Bowser said was not the result of a request by the city.
In
contrast with previous days, violence occurred."
[Emph. Mine]
For
July 3, 2020, Wikipedia related: “Over
5,000 were estimated to have taken part in peaceful demonstrations
across the city, including those well past curfew into Thursday
morning. No arrests were made, and no confrontations with police or
damage to police property occurred.
.
. .”[Atty. Gen.] Barr announced that he would 'flood the zone' in
D.C. by bringing in law enforcement agents from multiple federal
agencies. Barr himself was supervising the operation from an FBI
command center in Washington's Chinatown.
The
deployment involved at least 5,800 troops, agents, and officers
including personnel from the National Guard, US Secret Service, US
Park Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, US
Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Protective Service
and the Transportation Security Administration.
The
heavily-armed officers wore uniforms with no name badges and no
insignia to show what agency they worked for, and they refused to
answer questions. [Thus, that night there may have been more
officers than protestors on the streets of DC, which may explain the
more peaceful side of the demonstrators.-HM]
For
June 5, Wikipedia presented this description: “On June
5 muralists painted
the words "Black
Lives Matter"
in 35-foot letters on 16th
Street NW leading
up to the White House and Lafayette Square with the assistance of the
city government, which gave the section of the street the honorary
name Black
Lives Matter Plaza.
“Mayor
Bowser asked Trump to 'withdraw all extraordinary law enforcement and
military presence from Washington, D.C.', noting that protests the
night before had been peaceful and she has ended the protest-related
state of emergency in the city.
The
Pentagon later that day announced it was withdrawing 1,600
active-duty troops it had deployed near the city.” [True, protests
the previous day had been peaceful, but that night's activities were
interrupted by a major thunderstorm, causing the mobs to disperse.-
HM]
Wikipedia
had more glowing things to report for June 6: “Demonstrations on
Saturday featured over 10,000 people, the most of any in the city up
to that point. Among the protestors that day were Senators Mitt
Romney, Elizabeth Warren, and Representative John Lewis.
The
largest were centered around the White House, as in previous days, .
. . Other gatherings occurred intermittently at various locations, .
. .
“Law
enforcement presence was heavily scaled back, and the atmosphere
resembled what some participants characterized as resembling a 'block
party' or 'festival', in sharp contrast to the previous weekend.
Some
individuals spray-painted "Defund the Police" on the street
where "Black Lives Matter" had been painted earlier the
previous day, in a move intended to criticize Mayor Bowser, who also
spoke at the protests near the White House."
Wikipedia
then skips to June 23 to report further action: “Hundreds
of protesters gathered near a bronze statue of President Andrew
Jackson in Lafayette Square. Protesters spray painted "killer"
and other phrases on the pedestal. Protesters then affixed ropes to
the statue and attempted to pull it down. Police used batons and
pepper spray to disperse the protesters.”
Under
the heading “Vandalism,” Wikipedia had a short summary:
“The Lincoln
Memorial,
the World
War II Memorial,
and the statue of General Casimir
Pulaski were
vandalized during the protests in Washington, D.C.
“The statue of Mahatma
Gandhi,
the leader of India's
independence movement against the British
rule,
was vandalised by unknown individuals. The incident prompted
the Indian
Embassy to
register a complaint with law enforcement agencies. Taranjit
Singh Sandhu,
the Indian Ambassador to the United States called the vandalism 'a
crime against humanity'.
U.S.
President Donald
Trump called
the defacement of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in D.C. a 'disgrace'.
[Note
that this summary makes no mention of the attempt to pull down the
statue of the Hero of New Orleans, President Andrew Jackson, or
objects thrown on the lawn of the White House or in other parks and
public areas.-HM]
There
are presently proposals being voiced by Democrats to make the
District of Columbia a state. It is not a state. It was initially
carved from two states to be the nation's capital. As the capital,
it was for many years ruled directly by Congress. The city has a
special place, and the Congress is located there, the US Supreme
Court, the White House, and the many monuments, museums, agencies,
erected to represent the nation as a whole.
When
the Mayor and home-rule city government fails to protect the national
monuments, allows mobs to so threaten the White House that the
President and his family had to be escorted into an underground
bunker for protection, when the Mayor commands that the name of a
Marxist, semi-terrorist organization be painted in 35 ft letters on a
major street beside the lawn of the White House, when she orders the
painting of a racist slogan on that street, and used the same racist
slogan to rename a plaza, when she allowed the desecration by the mob
of the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and others, disturbing
most Americans, and when the mob attacked the statue of Gandhi, it
created international difficulties for the United States, when the
Mayor is either in collusion with the mobs, or unable to control
them, either way her incompetence or subversion can no longer be
endured in the nation's capital.
How
can anyone call Black Lives Matter a racist slogan? If Trump had
commanded another major street be decorated with huge letters
proclaiming White Lives Matter, the media would be in an uproar about
the racist message. All Lives Matter provokes the same hatred by the
mob; they find it too racist! One should realize that privileging
one race over others, as in Mayor Bowser's ordered lettering, that is
racism.
PRESIDENT
TRUMP SHOULD DEPOSE MAYOR BOWSER
Therefore,
I urge President Trump to depose Mayor Muriel Bowser, and make
Washington D. C. a national capital again under direction of the
nation's executive until a more permanent solution to the problem can
be found. Washington D C must remain a safe space for the nation as
a whole. Mobs cannot be allowed to demolish what the people of the
nation have created. The President must intervene to save the
capital for all America, and punish the mobs that seek to destroy the
cherished symbols of the nation's past. The monsters who destroy
must be punished. Civilization must be restored. To effect this,
Mayor Bowser must be removed from office, and power of the District
placed in the hands of the nation's leaders.
By Hugh Murray