OPINION:
Although it hasn’t been officially called, D.C. City Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a die-hard socialist, is well on her way to becoming the next mayor of Washington.
Ms. Lewis George, who was endorsed by Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Socialists of America, has a predictable platform that includes heavily subsidized childcare and opposition to immigration enforcement.
Naturally, she opposes the D.C. youth curfew of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those under 18 years of age in designated zones. Why make it harder for juvenile gangs to operate?
The mayor-elect called President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to our nation’s capital “a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of D.C.” It is a direct attack that gave Washington its lowest crime rates in 30 years. But perhaps Ms. Lewis George views crime as a redistribution program that takes property from overprivileged victims and gives it to needy perpetrators.
Ms. Lewis George has been called the Zohran Mamdani of Washington. Like her New York counterpart, she’ll probably succeed at raising taxes, driving out businesses and high-income individuals and instituting utopian schemes such as municipal grocery stores.
Socialist mayors seem to be all the rage. Besides New York City Mayor Mamdani, there’s Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Burlington, Vermont Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. Although she’s running behind in the polls, Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, another socialist, could end up as the next mayor of L.A. after the November election.
But the difference between a socialist and a run-of-the-mill urban leftist is one of degree, not policy. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are hardly advocates of limited government.
Ms. Lewis George and Mr. Mamdani are the end product of decades of urban collectivism: rent control, tax-the-rich policies, homeless encampments and subsidized everything. Los Angeles might have had an alternative with media personality Spencer Pratt, but he didn’t even make the runoff.
Urban America’s race to the bottom is predictable. As hard-working, sensible citizens are driven out (Los Angeles County lost more than 54,000 people in one 12-month period), what’s left is the gullible “gimme” crowd — those who think the rich are evil and prosperity can be legislated.
The only hope for Washington is for Congress to modify or repeal the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973. If things get bad enough, perhaps that will happen.
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