By Dave Workman | Editor-in-Chief
As violent protests continue in Seattle and Portland—the two largest cities in the Pacific Northwest and decidedly liberal bastions—about the only positive aspect is that so far, nobody has blamed guns or the Second Amendment for all the trouble.
In Portland, far left Mayor Ted Wheeler found himself being told to resign by the very demonstrators with whom he was apparently trying to bond during a nighttime gathering July 22, and that was before he was tear gassed by federal agents.
In Seattle, as reported by KOMO—the local ABC affiliate—there was more violence at about the same time as “A destructive, roving band of people broke into several Seattle businesses Wednesday night and set fire to merchandise in some of the stores.”
In the midst of unrest, the Metropolitan King County Council, which is also dominated by far-left Democrats, is trying to turn the office of county sheriff into an appointed political position rather than an elective office where the county’s top cop would be answerable directly to the voters.
Seattle is in King County.
According to the Seattle Times, the effort is designed to “give the County Council the ability to reduce the scope of the Sheriff’s Office.”
This proposal is reportedly the brainchild of Councilman Rod Dembowski, a Democrat who was born and grew up in King County. An attorney, he is selling this proposal on his website as a way to “help add accountability to, and take politics out of, the Sheriff’s Office by returning the Sheriff to an appointed position with strong community input.”
Times reader reaction appears strongly tilted against the idea, which will go before voters in November.
In the meantime, King County Executive Dow Constantine, another liberal Democrat, recently announced he wants to close down the county jail in downtown Seattle, according to the Seattle P-I.com. His plan was outlined in a memo reported by the online newspaper. He will “support program for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation and “harm reduction.”
Back on the streets of Seattle, KOMO reported a group “of about 150 people first gathered at Cal Anderson Park” (located in the former “CHOP” zone) “then roamed about the Capitol Hill neighborhood, doing massive amounts of property damage, looting, shooting fireworks, and committing arson.” The Seattle Police Blotter said the vandals tried to set fire to at least one business.
Two hundred miles south, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was wearing egg on her face and had to apologize after alleging that arson and other troubles were the handiwork of police “saboteurs” and “provocateurs,” according to Fox News.
Here’s what she said, according to the Portland Oregonian: “I want people to know that I do not believe there’s any protesters in Portland that are setting fires, that are creating crisis. I absolutely believe it’s police action, and they’re sending saboteurs and provocateurs into peaceful crowds so they justify their inhumane treatment of people who are standing up for their rights.”
The Oregonian said Hardesty’s claims were unsubstantiated, adding, “She also made a not-so-oblique reference to Mayor Ted Wheeler, referencing “ignorance at the highest levels in our city government” as she participated in a national briefing sponsored by a left-leaning think tank based in Portland.”
If this continues in the Pacific Northwest, will it spread to other regions? That’s a question on several minds as the region has become something of a petri dish for the far left to experiment with things like local socialism, gun control extremism and tax-and-spend politics, according to critics.
