There is a special breed of sewer rat in Washington who is willing to exploit any human catastrophe for personal political gain.
Sadly, these vermin are no longer the rare exceptions in the Democrat Party; today, they are the face of the Democrat Party.
Minnesota police pull over a 20-year-old for expired car registration and the driver winds up dead after a cop shoots him in a struggle — an unspeakable tragedy to be sure. But leave it to sick politicians in Washington to exploit the tragedy for their own twisted benefit.
“This violence is a basic part of police interactions with communities of color,” claimed Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat congresswoman from Minnesota.
Really?
Daunte Wright was killed because he was Black? And killing him was “a basic part” of policing in Minnesota?
Does Ms. Omar know something about her state that she is not telling the rest of us? That is a pretty incendiary claim. And what does it say about a murderously racist state that it would also elect someone like Ilhan Omar as a representative in Washington?
And, as one of the single most powerful figures in the state of Minnesota, how much blood is on Ms. Omar’s racist hands?
Not to be outdone, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York had to get in on the shameless exploitation of Black voters.
“Daunte Wright’s killing was not a random, disconnected ‘accident’ — it was the repeated outcome of an indefensible system that grants impunity for state violence, rewards it w/ endlessly growing budgets” and blah, blah, blah, blah.
Again, serious charges from someone who seems to have some kind of inside knowledge. How much blood is on her hands? Or is this just another one of her crazy conspiracy theories for which there is absolutely zero evidence?
Anyway, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, “impunity for state violence”? What part of “impunity” includes charging Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the force, with manslaughter?
What part of “impunity” includes charging Derek Chauvin with murder in the death of George Floyd, whose autopsy found enough fentanyl in his system to kill him three times over?
This is not “impunity,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. This would be the exact opposite of “impunity.” Look it up in the dictionary.
Perhaps her shaky grasp of English is no better than her poor grasp of Spanish, which led her to claim that border agents in the Trump administration were forcing migrants from Mexico to drink out of toilets.
Whatever.
When it comes to exploiting Black voters and tossing Molotov cocktails in family neighborhoods these political parasites are forever in a race to the bottom.
“Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist,” claimed Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, apparently desperate for a piece of the limelight in Daunte Wright’s death.
“I am done with those who condone government-funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”
We spend a lot of time these days talking about “bad” cops. Sometimes it is all we talk about. As we watch our cities burn and people’s stores get looted.
Every bit of the burning and looting is fueled by the crazed and unfounded claims made by these politicians in Washington. Last summer, our current vice president actually raised money to spring looting rioters from prison so that they could get back out onto the streets for more looting and rioting.
There is no doubt that Officer Potter made a grievous error when she grabbed her service pistol instead of her Taser when she attempted to subdue Mr. Wright as he resisted arrest and struggled to flee. She will pay a terrible price for that mistake.
But there were a great many mistakes that led to that tragic moment when Officer Potter shot Mr. Wright, not the least of which was his previous arrest for attempted armed robbery.
Blame for all those earlier mistakes does not lie with Officer Potter. She was simply enforcing the laws made by other people — lawmakers such as Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
Far more blame for the whole sad situation lies with the very people who now view the tragedy and immediately exploit it for further personal political gain.
• Charles Hurt is opinion editor of The Washington Times. He can be reached at churt@washingtontimes.com.