PUBLISHED: October 30, 2024 | www.baltimoresun.com
Mark Twain once wrote that truth is stranger than fiction — a statement that rings powerfully in the peculiar reality of one New York City congressional district today. Imagine this: a neighborhood in a congressional district where brothels disguise themselves as massage parlors, concealing the illicit trafficking operations occurring in their backrooms. The area has been infested by members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a Venezuelan gang that entered the United States through the southern border, aided by policies advocated by the district’s congresswoman, and which has been the primary cause for an uptick in illicit prostitution in at least eight states, including New York.
For years, the situation appeared under wraps, until an abrupt development: The city’s mayor, recently charged with corruption by the Department of Justice, became the focus of public condemnation from this congresswoman. Likely infuriated by her demands for his resignation, the mayor soon after deployed more than 200 police, including New York Police Department officers and state troopers, to her district, intending to dismantle these illicit operations, arrest traffickers and rehabilitate the victims trapped within.
It is a narrative of incompetence, malfeasance and revenge. Yet, it is a narrative so ludicrous that if someone were to write it, an audience would find the absurdity of the situation laughable.
But when it comes to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, reality is, quite frankly, unbelievable. A congresswoman in the wealthiest city of the most affluent and prosperous nation in the world. An economics graduate from a prestigious American university who has adopted a socialist ideology and advocates for the dismantling of the way of American life as we know it.
The revelation that AOC’s district is a hub of criminal activity surprised no one. Pick any radical view, and it is likely that AOC not only endorses it but occupies the most extreme position on the issue. Climate change? AOC asserted that “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” Criminal justice? AOC advocates for defunding the police, having stated, “Defund police means defund police.” She endorses New York’s contentious bail reform law, which has resulted in numerous instances of violent offenders being released without bail after arrest, subsequently reoffending — often the same day. She additionally sent a letter to the five district attorneys of New York City urging them to reduce the use of cash bail. AOC also abhors capitalism, seemingly because she cannot stand the sight of the ultra-wealthy. To that end, she would rather have the United States look more like Venezuela, where the government considered breeding rabbits for consumption, and where the norm is people waiting in long bread lines.
AOC once said, “Capitalism has not always existed in the world, and it will not always exist in the world. When this country started, we were not a capitalist [nation]. We did not operate on a capitalist economy.” Has she ever opened a history book? Is she aware that prior to the complete adoption of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution, the average American endured prolonged, arduous labor under perilous conditions for work, received meager wages and frequently succumbed to an early and agonizing death? And when it comes to fossil fuel dependency, she advocates for its complete and immediate cessation. She said, “There’s no debate as to whether we should continue producing fossil fuels.” When you’re that simple-minded, debate is too hard — apparently.
Is it surprising that her district mirrors everything she embodies? Impoverishment, neglect, criminality, scantily clad migrant women lining the streets offering sex for $60?
The indictment of Mayor Eric Adams remains nothing more than an indictment — allegations of criminal conduct. However, this has not deterred AOC and her ilk from treating them as truth. Undoubtedly, if identical allegations were directed at her, she would ask that everyone await a jury’s decision. Who is really surprised by her simple mind and lack of principles?
AOC stands against everything that makes America great. She is a force that cannot be reasoned with.
The irony is that AOC is a product of everything that made America so great in the first place. AOC has so much to complain about because America is so prosperous that things aren’t so simple. When poverty is widespread, when there are bombs flying overhead, when a brutal regime rules with an iron fist, issues like climate change, bail reform, transgenderism and others mean little. She has so little to complain about, yet she is prepared to dismantle a system that is 95% effective to attain the remaining 5% of cases in which we fail. While we are not a perfect nation by any measure, we are the most powerful and affluent globally, and Americans have, on average, benefited from that.
If AOC’s district reflects her vision for America, voters must treat the ballot box like their lives depend on it to ensure her agenda is thwarted.
Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.
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