Addressing high crime in the area, the Washington, D.C. Council has put forth changes in a crime bill. The updates to the criminal code stirred controversy because they would lower penalties for violent crimes like carjackings and armed robbery. It was so bad that even far-left Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed it before the even more radical city council overrode her.
Given the out-of-control crime problem that exists in D.C., one would expect that changes are in order, but lowering penalties for violent crimes seems to be an odd way to initiate proactive policing. Of course, this is the Democrats, the party that wants to defund the police. Instead, 173 House Democrats voted against the common sense resolution to override the criminal code changes.
But, President Biden told Democrat lawmakers on Thursday that he would not veto a bi-partisan resolution that overrides the resolution. The Democrats that voted for the override are not happy, in fact, they are very angry that they were betrayed. It seems that Joe Biden has again done something that even angers his own party.
NBC reported that the White House opposes the House resolution to overturn the D.C. Council’s changes to the city’s criminal code, but it has previously stopped short of saying Biden would veto it if it was sent to his desk. a White House official confirmed Thursday that Biden will not veto it, and Biden tweeted that he will sign it, despite his support for Washington’s autonomy. “I support D.C. statehood and home rule – but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden wrote. “If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it”
Mayor Muriel Bowser opposed the changes passed by the D.C. Council, but her veto was overridden. Still, she has called on Congress not to meddle in the district’s sovereignty. The mayor tweeted, “I call on all senators who share a commitment to the basic democratic principles of self-determination and local control to vote “NO” on any disapproval resolutions involving duly enacted laws of the District of Columbia.”
FOX News reports that Democrats are furious with Biden, and are not holding back their outrage:
According to The Hill, some of these Democratic Party lawmakers are so outraged over Biden’s decision that they’ve resorted to blasting the White House in expletive-laden epithets. One told the outlet that this is “F—ING AMATEUR HOUR.”
The same lawmaker claimed that the White House “f—ed this up royally.” Others said Biden’s decision was “disappointing.”
One particularly frustrated anonymous congressman gave an expletive-laden statement to The Hill via text message. The lawmaker said, “The White House f—ed this up royally.”
He added, “So a lot of us who are allies voted no in order to support what the White House wanted. And now we are being hung out to dry.” In all caps, he declared, “F—ING AMATEUR HOUR. HEADS SHOULD ROLL OVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE OVER THIS.”
Red State provided commentary on the matter:
This is Twilight Zone stuff. Democrats seemingly never get angry at Joe Biden, but his not allowing D.C. to become an even worse, crime-infested hellhole is a bridge too far? That’s the thing that sets them off?
Really, what is the argument here? Is it that violent carjackers have been punished too harshly? That armed robbers have it too tough? For the life of me, I can’t fathom the mindset of a person who looks at the crime problem in D.C. and thinks, “you know, we are just being too hard on all these criminals.”
I guess anarchy really is the religion of the left. They truly believe that reducing penalties and letting even more dangerous people out of jail will magically lower crime and make things more “equitable.” What about the victims? What about the people who will lose their property, and in some cases, their lives? Do these raging House Democrats simply not care about that? That’s rhetorical, of course.
Honestly, even though I know it’s for selfish reasons (Biden wants to defuse the soft-on-crime talking point before the next election), at least the president is doing the right thing. I can’t say the same for so many in his party who would rather watch the world burn in the name of social justice than help people who desperately need help.
The battle between local and federal calls on this matter highlight the greater issue.
The quest of Washington D.C. to become a state is highly controversial, as its status as a district is constitutionally based. Article 1, section 8, clause 17 of the Constitution says that the “Seat of Government of the United States” shall be a district that is at most ten square miles and separate and apart form the other “particular States”. the founding fathers saw the wisdom of the federal government being in a district which would not have state issues. Nevertheless, D.C. itself is clamoring to become an actual state.