Milwaukee’s street takeovers are dangerous displays of lawlessness that terrorize neighborhoods, and turn public roads into public displays of low-IQ car culture. The flaunting of lawlessness is optically toxic and paints Milwaukee in a bad light. Yet Milwaukee Democrats have no real answer. They watch the situation worsen because the systems they built make real solutions impossible. Meanwhile, crime has become cool, praised, and outright encouraged by modern society.
Police want to enforce the law, while it seems some in the justice system want the opposite. The Common Council wants to virtue-signal while avoiding tough decisions. These three rarely align on a solution. Police are trapped in an impossible position: ordered to do their extremely hard job while handcuffed by rules that demand they fix it without ever hurting liberal views on policing.
Instead of tackling the problem head-on, Democrats reach for gimmicks. They close food trucks in an attempt to stop crime and want to build physical walls around Water Street. These half-measures avoid the real work of aggressively arresting and prosecuting people who break the law. Believe it or not, you can arrest your way out of an issue. Doing what is necessary would mean targeting criminals, regardless of what liberal dogma it offends.
Decades of one-party rule produced a machine that excels at excuses but fails at governance. Crime will continue to be handled in lackluster fashion because Democrats lack both the ability and the courage to dismantle the soft-on-crime culture they created. Doing so would be an indictment of their ideology and worldview. Instead of plotting a new course, the captain goes down with the ship.
This is where Republicans must step in. Milwaukee law enforcement, like much of the country, is still dealing with the consequences of the George Floyd movement. I’m not sure staffing levels will ever fully recover. However, state Republicans giving more resources to Milwaukee is not enough to fix the issue on its own.
Truly aggressive measures are required, the kind the federal government deployed in Washington, D.C., which resulted in a historic decrease in crime. That means state intervention: mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes, strip sanctuary-style protections, aggressively prosecute repeat offenders, and give law enforcement assistance from the National Guard or State Patrol.
Democrats will hate it. They will scream about overreach, racism, and authoritarianism. But here is the truth: if it works, the people will love it. What is the best political message? Success. Citizens care about safe streets far more than progressive slogans. When Milwaukee families see results, when street takeovers disappear, when businesses stay open and kids play without fear, the political winds can shift. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser even praised Trump for his work.
Republicans won’t be pulling a Tommy Thompson and winning Milwaukee County anytime soon, but the City of Milwaukee has been run so poorly for so long that even a modicum of improvement could be palpable. Force the Milwaukee Democrat machine to either cooperate or be left on the sidelines when the plans become successful.
Street takeovers are the visible symptom of deeper Democratic governance failure. Tom Tiffany and Republican majorities in Madison must lead the charge and intervene where local Democrats will not.
