Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland has apparently had it.
For several months, many of America’s big-city mayors – Democrats all — surrendered to demands by Black Lives Matter and Antifa, who in turn often turned those “mostly peaceful” occasions to exercise First Amendment rights into looting and burning parties.
Wheeler, however, had to be the worst among them.
He allowed Antifa to run wild in his streets every night for weeks, even fighting with the Trump administration’s efforts to restore order near federal property. As the Washington Examiner’s Byron York recently noted, people simply stopped counting after Antifa had rioted and vandalized for 100 consecutive nights.
Wheeler was such a political simp when it came to these goons that he even moved out of his home when they began appearing on his doorstep. He said he was concerned for his neighbors’ well-being.
But now it seems Wheeler, like the character Howard Beale in “Network,” is mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
Antifa in Portland welcomed 2021’s arrival by smashing store-front windows, launching commercial-grade fireworks at the federal courthouse and hurling brickbats and Molotov cocktails at cops.
In comments on New Year’s Day, Wheeler said, “We need more accountability and we need to hold people responsible for their criminal conduct.”
“My good-faith efforts at de-escalation have been met with ongoing violence and even scorn from radical Antifa and anarchists,” he added.
“In response, it will be necessary to use additional tools and to push the limits of the tools we already have to bring the criminal destruction and violence to an end.”
“Lawlessness and anarchy come at great expense, and with great risk to the future of our community,” he continued. “It’s time to push back harder against those who are set on destroying our community and to take more risks in fighting lawlessness.”
“In closing, once again, I condemn any who engages in violence and criminal destruction no matter what their ideology,” he concluded.
Now, some of us can remember five minutes ago when then-canddidate Joe Biden scoffed at President Donald Trump and said Antifa was “an idea,” not a real group – and when U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York called reports of Antifa violence a “myth.”
Although he said he planned to meet with law enforcement officials, Wheeler, who seems to have finally learned that you cannot negotiate with terrorists, didn’t explain in great detail how he will now tame the “idea” he’s allowed to run wild.
Ironically, Wheeler recently won a second term by defeating an openly pro-Antifa candidate.
But given his performance, Antifa clearly had nothing to lose no matter who won.
Editors Note: The tweet below, with video, is from New Year’s Eve in Portland. Happy New Year, SMH.
I will no longer be seeing my Surgeons in Portland at their down town offices, I no longer feel safe in that town because of him and Kate Brown, in fact I want out of Whoregon.
This is a great article but it doesn’t describe how bad things really are. We have wide spread violence in the Willamette valley from Portland to Eugene because of Liberal thinking leaders and a Libtard Government. My advice to anyone living or thinking of living in these areas is: Don’t. We have been saying for almost a year all reasonable sensible people should leave-move away. All businesses hoping to make a profit need to leave for higher ground. Eastern and Central Oregon does not cow-tow to these libtard idiots and never will. If I were to raise a family or locate a business it would be East of the benjoe ditch running from Portland to Eugene.