Invade New Orleans

Erick Erickson on Sep 5, 2025

Wealthy white progressives are generally the most paternalistically racist people you will ever encounter on planet earth. Overwhelmed by the soft bigotry of low expectations, what they can't really say out loud, but what they think, is that you can't get rid of crime in poor and non-white neighborhoods. Like the white racist redneck Klansman who thinks black people cannot swim, the wealthy white progressive thinks black people can't live in areas without crime.

This is why, earlier this week, the Governor of Illinois, a billionaire white progressive, waved away the problems of Chicago with, "Look, big cities have crime!" Ask the white talking heads on MSNBC who say there is no crime problem in Washington or ask the billionaire elite in New York City or Chicago, and there is no crime problem in their neighborhoods. And when you try to fight crime in the other neighborhoods or wonder about 54 shootings on the South Side of Chicago over Labor Day Weekend, they look you in the eye and tell you, "That's a conversation for them." Where "them" is the local black community.

Wealthy white progressives just are not interested in solving crime in non-white and poor communities because they just think it is a way of life for those communities in the same way they think they need illegal aliens here to harvest their food and care for their kids and grandparents and deliver them DoorDash.

Meanwhile, Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, insists the city cannot get rid of crime because of all the guns coming from Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and other red states. It is the red states' fault. For reasons he cannot explain, the guns do not actually start shooting till they get to Chicago. Parts of Texas, per capita, have way more guns than Chicago, and the guns do not shoot people as often there. Why is that?

The president of the United States should partner with red state governors and send the National Guard into crime-infested war zones in those states. Invade New Orleans with Governor Landry. Conquer Memphis with Governor Lee. Rebuild St. Louis and Kansas City with Governor Kehoe. Attack Savannah crime with Governor Kemp.

Instead of getting into protracted legal battles with the progressive left, let their crime-infested areas fester as Republicans, working at the state and federal level, bring back law and order to crime-infested cities in red states. Show the residents of Chicago that one can calm New Orleans. Show Oakland that Memphis can be made safe at night.

Show them what is possible instead of letting them claim you cannot stop crime. Frankly, it would reward the voters of red states by making their streets safer, their cities safer, and their communities more amenable to tourism and its related economic growth.

Progressives have convinced themselves crime cannot be lowered, let alone eradicated, without ending much of the First and all the Second Amendment. Demands for gun control have allowed Democrats to abdicate all other efforts and ideas to reduce crime.

In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has actually defined the white progressive talking heads on television and acknowledged both that Washington has a crime problem and that the increased federal law enforcement has helped reduce the crime and made people feel safer. White progressives scream dystopia. Mayor Bowser endorses reality.

We live in a fallen world. We will never get rid of crime. Cain and Abel walked with God and still Cain murdered Abel. But crime can be the exception, not the rule. Democrats have decided crime is a way of life in cities. It does not have to be that way. President Donald Trump and Republicans have the opportunity to think differently about crime and law enforcement. They have the opportunity to aggressively tackle gang violence in cities and make people feel safe again.

The progressive left has failed when they think we should expect crime. No American ever should have to feel unsafe in their community. Working together, in major cities in red states, President Trump and Republican Governors can show crime is not inevitable and can be made the exception, not the rule.

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To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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