Althouse: "Rahm Emanuel Must Resign/From Laquan McDonald to Homan Square, Rahm has tacitly endorsed police violence."

December 18, 2015

"Rahm Emanuel Must Resign/From Laquan McDonald to Homan Square, Rahm has tacitly endorsed police violence."

By the Editors of The Nation.

If he goes, who will fix it? He has the strongest motivation and capacity of anyone. Is symbolism worth more, or do you just not trust him?

44 comments:

Gahrie said...: If he goes, who will fix it?

In Chicago? Nobody. It is just business as usual.; 12/18/15, 11:38 AM
David Begley said...: Solution!

Val Jarrett replaces Rahm as Mayor. Obama issues an Executive Order to make it so. Authority? Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Why not?; 12/18/15, 11:40 AM
Tank said...: Why not let Rahm run the white part of the city, and Big Al (Sharpton) can run the black part. Then when things go afoul in the white part ... oh, wait a second, Rahm will be just basking in the glory of the best city in America; and, when things go afoul in the black part, Big Al can handle it in his own quiet, competent way.

Win win.; 12/18/15, 11:40 AM
mccullough said...: Police violence isn't a problem in Chicago any more than it's a problem in Baltimore or anywhere else. There will always be some excessive force and shootings that aren't justified by police. They work in high crime areas and often deal with scum so it's to be expected.

The editors of the nation or the NYT aren't going to patrol the ghettoes. Neither are their kids.

We can either have lower crime along with some police brutality. Or we can have the police back off and watch the crime rise. Baltimore's homicides are up 50% over last year and are the highest since 1993. So what do people want because lower crime without aggressive policing is impossible and aggressive policing is going to have some excess; 12/18/15, 11:47 AM
mikee said...: Althouse makes the mistake of thinking Rahm Emmanuel believes that something in Chicago needs fixed. Rahm revels in the Chicago corruption. It made him mayor. It enriches him and his cronies. It supports the Democrats. It made Obama president.

Althouse is mistaking the source of the problem, Democrats like Rahm Emmanuel, for a possible solution.

That is willful blindness taken to an extreme.; 12/18/15, 11:53 AM
cubanbob said...: Rahm Emmanual resigns and is replaced by whom? A Good Government type? I would bet my ranch the replacement Mayor will be another Chicago Outfit guy. Why waste money on new stationary when everything else will stay the same?; 12/18/15, 11:53 AM
Big Mike said...: If he goes, who will fix it? He has the strongest motivation and capacity of anyone.

Are you somehow related to the Emanuel family that you have such a starry-eyed view of Rahm as being motivated, much less have the capacity, to fix Chicago before it drags the entire state of Illinois into bankruptcy? No one is going to fix Chicago until disaster puts a gun to everyone's head, so go drink some coffee to clear your head.; 12/18/15, 11:53 AM
rehajm said...: By proclaiming it a myth, The Nation has explicitly endorsed black on black violence.; 12/18/15, 11:54 AM
Ken B said...: Incentives matter. I suspect you wanted Rumsfeld to resign over Abu Ghraib. Why?

Cruel, but neutral.; 12/18/15, 12:01 PM
Etienne said...: The way forward for Chicago, is to declare martial law, and to kill every drug dealer and gang-banger they can find.

You'd see a shit-load of fuckers taking boats to Canada, or running to the neighboring states.

Get tough, and start shooting. Police need to decide who's running their town. Them or the immigrants.; 12/18/15, 12:11 PM
traditionalguy said...: It's the Guillotine at work in in Place de la Concorde, redux. The goal is eimination of the living members of the Ancient Regime.; 12/18/15, 12:11 PM
ThreeSheets said...: The "violence" problem in Chicago isn't caused by the police. There are hundreds of murders and probably thousands of shooting each year and only a handful involve the police. The violence is being caused by drug gangs in a power vacuum after years of aggressive Federal prosecutions tore up some of gang hierarchy.

The solution is MORE police in those neighborhoods but they are now hamstrung by public anti-police sentiment. It's a pickle. The leaders in those communities want more police, but then indict the police for violating minorities' civil rights.

The McDonald case is horrible and the officer(s) should be indicted and/or fired. The Federal investigation is warranted. But neither the prosecution of more police officers or changes in personnel in the police department will end the slaughter going on in parts of the town. Not even make a dent.; 12/18/15, 12:26 PM
Roughcoat said...: If the Jew goes, he'll be replaced by a stupid, incompetent, pandering black or Latino Democrat politician. Or, possibly, a stupid, incompetent, pandering Irish Democrat politician--but I doubt it. We've been through that already. Many times.

- Cook County/Chicagoland resident; 12/18/15, 12:32 PM
mezzrow said...: Chicago has gotten what it voted for. Good and hard.; 12/18/15, 12:37 PM
Sebastian said...: There are hundreds of murders and probably thousands of shooting each year"

About 481 homicides, over 2,800 shot so far this year. But police violence is the problem, and someone other than Rahm will "fix" it.; 12/18/15, 12:37 PM
Achilles said...: Any non-progressive would do a better job. This is 100% the result of progressive policies in every possible way.

It isn't about knocking off a figurehead. It is about recognizing that progressives are racist totalitarians and only serve the wealthy faithfully.; 12/18/15, 12:42 PM
steve uhr said...: The evidence indicates the mayor led an elaborate cover up for political reasons. Getting rid of him isn't about symbolism.; 12/18/15, 12:47 PM
Gahrie said...: The evidence indicates the mayor led an elaborate cover up for political reasons.

So did Obama...and no one is talking abut forcing him to resign.; 12/18/15, 12:58 PM
grackle said...: If he goes, who will fix it?

“It” can’t be ‘fixed.’ “It” is the result of 50 years of Democrat governance of many of our large cities. And that’s not likely to change, considering the level of corruption in all these cities.

Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, etc. None of them can be fixed. They are right now more or less third world-ers in America.

We will have to bail them out with the equivalent of domestic CARE packages. First-graders in Houston will donate to feed the starving inner-city kids. The government will send money – which will as usual go into some well-connected pockets.

Instead of, “Eat your dinner, children are starving in Africa,” it’ll be , “Clean your plate, pre-schoolers are dropping like flies in Chicago.”; 12/18/15, 12:58 PM
pst314 said...: "Rahm has tacitly endorsed police violence."
The Nation has long endorsed state violence--as long as it is a leftist state.; 12/18/15, 1:08 PM
TrespassersW said...: What could possibly lead you to believe that Rahm has the capacity to fix anything?; 12/18/15, 1:16 PM
William said...: Rahman Emanuel: Chicago's own Qaddafi. Vote for me because all other options are far worse........Chicago and Baltimore will continue to fester and die so long as their citizens dislike and distrust cops more than they dislike and distrust drug dealers.; 12/18/15, 1:18 PM
Curious George said...: "steve uhr said...
The evidence indicates the mayor led an elaborate cover up for political reasons. Getting rid of him isn't about symbolism."

This. The McDonald shooting was murder, pure and simple. And Rahm covered it up. He deserves to be in jail for accessory after the fact. Who cleans up the mess, or whether it can be cleaned up, is moot.; 12/18/15, 1:36 PM
CStanley said...: What Steve unreal said. Emmanuel has demonstrated that what he cares about isn't solving problems, but rather avoiding political fallout from them. There is absolutely no reason to suspect that will change now.

And his successor will also have pressure on him to clean up some of the mess. That's not to say it is really feasible, but the motivation will be there.; 12/18/15, 2:23 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Ann Althouse said..He has the strongest motivation and capacity of anyone.

Who has move incentive to root out corruption in his party and reelection campaign/among his staff than Nixon himself?; 12/18/15, 2:32 PM
jacksonjay said...: Checked the Rahm tag at Althouse and found one post. Kinda surprised. I thought surely the Professor had posted something when Dr Spock, Not Red States, Not Blue States, Just United States, Yes We Can, Si Se Puede, President Elect Barack Hussein Obama made Rahm his Chief of Staff. Obama's first executive decision as President was to put Rahmbo in charge. Notoriously, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, badass Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff. All the campaign rhetoric about uniting the country and changing the tone and Rahm's in charge.

Were Obama voters disappointed when NoDrama Obama appointed the biggest Drama Queen in D.C. to serve as his right hand man? The current flap over rotten cops in his rotten city doesn't surprise anyone. I say yeah, let the rotten head of the rotten fish stick around and clean it up. Why not? They get what they deserve.

Andy Samberg did a great Rahm on SNL!!

I voted for McCain.; 12/18/15, 3:18 PM
M Jordan said...: A politician manipulates a video to win reelection... where have I heard that script before?; 12/18/15, 3:19 PM
jacksonjay said...: Still waiting to see the demonstrations in Chicago streets over the gang feud execution of Tyshawn Lee. 9 year old Tyshawn Lee. I'll be concerned for Laquan when Chiraq is concerned for Tyshawn.; 12/18/15, 3:28 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: If he doesn't stay, then he won't have a chance to take responsibility!; 12/18/15, 3:37 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Who cares what the editors of the Nation thinks?

Didn't they support the Stalinist Soviet Union up through its demise in 1989?; 12/18/15, 3:52 PM
The Godfather said...: Here's an idea: Let's send Tromp to clean up Chicago. Just the right job for him: It's HUUGE! If he gets that done by Nov. 2016 I'll vote for him for President.

If not, . . . . Not.; 12/18/15, 4:57 PM
Unknown said...: ---There will always be some excessive force and shootings that aren't justified by police.

We’re overlooking the triangle of power here. Bad cops are inevitable but in major Democrat cities they are protected by corrupt police unions -- who contribute to corrupt Democratic politicians.

BlackLivesMatter as framed by Ferguson was cynical and built on a lie. BlackLivesMatter based on the cold blooded killing of this kid spotlights this circle of Democratic city corruption. Absolute power and all that.; 12/18/15, 6:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Even were Rahm genuinely aware of the depth of Chicago's problems, his response to the police shooting video suggests that his approach to problems is to find ways to protect himself and his people while publicly denying there is anything wrong.

Regardless of his motivation or capacity, even if he was genuinely willing to do what needed to be done, he isn't going to get the support he needs to challenge the powers that be in Chicago after this scandal. True, replacing him isn't likely to improve matters, but I don't see Rahm able to do much now.

In my opinion, Chicago's best hope these days is to end up before a federal bankruptcy judge, who might end up being more fair and impartial to its citizens than the city's political leadership. It may come to that in the next recession given how precarious the city's budget and pensions are.; 12/18/15, 8:09 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: The Nation garners maybe one-thirtieth the comments that you do, Althouse. If that can be taken as a measure of how many people give a shit what you're saying, you're more influential than a magazine that's been published since the end of the Civil War. I don't know if that says something about the profundity of your observations, the ephemeral banality of the Internet, or how completely batshit the Left has become.; 12/18/15, 8:26 PM
Chuck said...: Well The Nation knows that it can't let Rahmbo off the hook -- even though he is one of their own -- since they know that they will have ten more shooting cases to prosecute on their pages before they make the final push for black voter turnout in November 2016. Rahm is collateral damage. It's not like The Nation will lose Chicago to the Republicans in any freaking event. It's all for The Cause.; 12/18/15, 9:09 PM
fivewheels said...: I don't know if it's just nitpicking or if it really does reveal the cracks in the thinking of leftists, but they're writers over at The Nation, so examining their words seems like fair game.

I endorse police violence. Explicitly, not tacitly. Most of us do. That's why they have nightsticks and guns and training.

None of us endorses excessive or unwarranted violence. The dividing line is the difficult issue that requires some consideration -- except at The Nation. They're just against it all. If a cop can't talk someone down, just run away, I guess.

Nitpicking, or is this really the sloppy, simple way they think?; 12/18/15, 9:24 PM
Big Mike said...: @fivewheels, it really is the sloppy, simplistic way that lefties think (if one could apply words related to cogitation to lefties). Most explicitly, in the book No Duty to Retreat historian Richard Maxwell Brown argues that the Earps and Doc Holliday should have backed down when Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers went for their guns in the alleyway behind the OK Corral, even though the Clantons and McLaurys had been making death threats against the Earps and were in violation of town ordinances in carrying guns openly, while the Earp brothers were sworn officers of the law.; 12/18/15, 10:27 PM
Valentine Smith said...: That's what Chicago gets for electing a Hollywood agent mayor.; 12/19/15, 1:21 AM
Michael K said...: I am just home from a USC Newport Boat parade cruise.We had dinner with a very nice mixed race couple who are well educated and who live in Chicago. She is black, he is white and they acknowledge that they "live in a bubble." There is a whole area of Chicago which is located east of the Loop and north of the Chicago River that is livable and isolated from the worst of the violence. This is all that is left of Chicago and I wonder how long it will last. There are white suburbs but this couple has no kids and are both high achievers. They like the city. I wish them well.; 12/19/15, 1:23 AM
Unknown said...: You're losing it Ann.; 12/19/15, 4:34 AM
john mosby said...: Just had a thought that's relevant to the Mcdonald shooting and the other recent police uses of force in the news:

We need more women cops. In fact, all cops should be women.

Imagine the optics if, instead of huge lineman Jason Van Dyke, the shooter had been 115-lb triathlete Jennifer Van Dyke. Both in the video and when she showed up for court in pigtails and bobby socks. If it even went to court.

Similar for the loosie cigarette guy on Staten Island - if it had been a bunch of SoulCycle gals struggling to get him down, rather than the mostly male pack of baseball-hatted bros, the question on everyone's lips wouldn't be "why did you choke him?" but "why didn't you just shoot him? One of you could have gotten hurt!"

I think that if we had a critical mass of women cops, we'd see the needle start to move back to pre-Garner days, with much more acceptance of the use of deadly force.

Plus, it would split the liberal coalition between women's rights and minority rights (where there's already a pretty gaping fault line now).

And this is also a good argument for women in the infantry: precisely because women are on average less physically capable than men, and precisely because the optics of dead/captured women are so horrible, we'd see the needle start to move in favor of less manpower-intensive ways of fighting our enemies: using standoff weapons with less precision. Kind of the status quo in WWII: heck yes we're going to firebomb Dresden and Tokyo (or Raqqa, Kandahar, etc), because frankly your babies are worth less to us than our adult soldiers. And the people making the arguments would be feminists.

At the least, these measures would make some liberal heads explode from the contradictions. And at best, they might actually accomplish the goals of internal and external order.

JSM; 12/19/15, 6:58 AM
Rusty said...: If he goes, who will fix it? He has the strongest motivation and capacity of anyone.

THe machine.The machine is self healing. It fixes everything.
The machine endures.
You guysshould make a habit out of reading John Kass. Like the late Mike Royko, he will give you an insight as to how the city really works.; 12/19/15, 7:40 AM
MayBee said...: I would be surprised if The Nation supported Rahm Emmanuel against Chuy. They seem more an SEIU-leaning publication.; 12/19/15, 12:40 PM
Rusty said...: Blogger MayBee said...
I would be surprised if The Nation supported Rahm Emmanuel against Chuy. They seem more an SEIU-leaning publication.

Chuy never had a chance. If it were anybody besides Rahm, then yes. But Rahm was selected, not elected.; 12/19/15, 10:58 PM