Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter - MIA & AWOL
Jun 4, 2020 11:03:20 #
Norm Coleman
It was an extraordinary sight.
The Governor of the State of Minnesota, surrounded by Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, State Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer, and Maj. Gen Jon Jensen, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, gathered together to talk about rioting and looting in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Absent not only from the stage and the room, but from the building itself, were the two most important elected officials that should have been there:
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
AWOL in defense of their city’s small businesses and employees in the fight against COVID-19.
AWOL in the defense of their city’s small businesses and employees in the fight against thugs and criminals.
There can be no more damning condemnation of the failure of leadership of both Mayors than their striking absence from the podium.
As Minneapolis and Saint Paul burned Mayor Frey and Carter were nowhere to be found.
Their voices nowhere to be heard.
Their leadership nowhere to be seen.
Frey, who days earlier vowed to close places of worship on CNN despite an agreement reached by the Governor and faith leaders to allow them to open, was perhaps too busy preening for the MSNBC cameras with Rachel Maddow.
Carter -- whose rebuttal to my recent claim he has done little to advocate for small businesses and their employees already in crisis from COVID-19 and crying out for help was to post a litany of things any Mayor should have been doing-- was missing in action as rioters looted and pillaged Saint Paul.
When the people of Saint Paul and Minneapolis needed strong, mature leadership they got two men for whom the job of Mayor is clearly too big for them.
The hundreds of businesses that were looted, damaged, wrecked and burned to the ground are symbols of their failure to lead.
The smoking ash heap of destruction is forever their legacy.
As rioters – criminals disguised as protesters – drove through the streets of their city terrorizing law-abiding citizens – Frey and Carter were silent.
When domestic terrorists claiming to be standing up for the murdered George Floyd targeted the takeover of a police precinct building, Jacob Frey not only blinked he caved and put thousands of Minneapolis residents lives in danger by ordering it abandoned.
He didn’t even have the courage to inform those living in the neighborhood that he had sacrificed their safety and welfare in exchange for a façade of leadership.
Frey claimed that protecting the “symbolism” of the building wasn’t worth sacrificing human lives.
Odd that he felt sacrificing the first responsibility of government, protecting human lives, was worth it by leaving residents to fend for themselves after law enforcement ceded the building to criminals who looted it and set it ablaze.
That Frey and Carter are feckless is no longer in doubt.
The only question that remains is whether the voters of Minneapolis and Saint Paul have finally seen that their emperors have no clothes.
George Floyd was murdered. That his killer has now been charged with the crime of murder and manslaughter is a step – only a step – in the right direction.
The men surrounding Governor Tim Walz today – Jensen, Langer, and Harrington – are men of accomplishment, courage, conviction, and leadership.
They have proven themselves time and time again and should give comfort to all Minnesotans that their beloved Capitol City and largest City will be protected as we go into the weekend under threat of further violence and bloodshed.
These are men that lead from the front.
They do not wear disguises of leadership and surround themselves with sycophants.
The Governor, whose leadership I find to be of mixed success, has publicly made it clear that he will not countenance a repeat of Frey and Carter’s failed leadership.
He has taken away the keys to their clown car and in doing so has vowed to restore order, and honor, back to our communities under threat from criminals.
The voices of dissent and protest in the Twin Cities were not heard last night despite the good intentions of those who gathered to voice truth to power.
I am angry that George Floyd lost his life because Derek Chauvin failed to uphold his oath and tarnished the good work of so many members of law enforcement throughout the United States.
I’m angry that far too many Americans of color continue to be traumatized by inequality and inequity and violence from a system that desperately needs to change.
When the dust settles, the looting subsides and the fires die down, Minnesota will require lots of healing. Perhaps we can lead the way for our nation in restoring community trust in law enforcement and change a system that too often targets people of color.
Jacob Frey and Melvin Carter are not the ones to lead that charge.
When our state needed them to lead from the front, they couldn’t summon the courage to lead from the rear.
They, along with the criminals who burned our beloved cities, must be held accountable for what they have done – and most of all, what they have failed to do.
It was an extraordinary sight.
The Governor of the State of Minnesota, surrounded by Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, State Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer, and Maj. Gen Jon Jensen, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, gathered together to talk about rioting and looting in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Absent not only from the stage and the room, but from the building itself, were the two most important elected officials that should have been there:
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.
AWOL in defense of their city’s small businesses and employees in the fight against COVID-19.
AWOL in the defense of their city’s small businesses and employees in the fight against thugs and criminals.
There can be no more damning condemnation of the failure of leadership of both Mayors than their striking absence from the podium.
As Minneapolis and Saint Paul burned Mayor Frey and Carter were nowhere to be found.
Their voices nowhere to be heard.
Their leadership nowhere to be seen.
Frey, who days earlier vowed to close places of worship on CNN despite an agreement reached by the Governor and faith leaders to allow them to open, was perhaps too busy preening for the MSNBC cameras with Rachel Maddow.
Carter -- whose rebuttal to my recent claim he has done little to advocate for small businesses and their employees already in crisis from COVID-19 and crying out for help was to post a litany of things any Mayor should have been doing-- was missing in action as rioters looted and pillaged Saint Paul.
When the people of Saint Paul and Minneapolis needed strong, mature leadership they got two men for whom the job of Mayor is clearly too big for them.
The hundreds of businesses that were looted, damaged, wrecked and burned to the ground are symbols of their failure to lead.
The smoking ash heap of destruction is forever their legacy.
As rioters – criminals disguised as protesters – drove through the streets of their city terrorizing law-abiding citizens – Frey and Carter were silent.
When domestic terrorists claiming to be standing up for the murdered George Floyd targeted the takeover of a police precinct building, Jacob Frey not only blinked he caved and put thousands of Minneapolis residents lives in danger by ordering it abandoned.
He didn’t even have the courage to inform those living in the neighborhood that he had sacrificed their safety and welfare in exchange for a façade of leadership.
Frey claimed that protecting the “symbolism” of the building wasn’t worth sacrificing human lives.
Odd that he felt sacrificing the first responsibility of government, protecting human lives, was worth it by leaving residents to fend for themselves after law enforcement ceded the building to criminals who looted it and set it ablaze.
That Frey and Carter are feckless is no longer in doubt.
The only question that remains is whether the voters of Minneapolis and Saint Paul have finally seen that their emperors have no clothes.
George Floyd was murdered. That his killer has now been charged with the crime of murder and manslaughter is a step – only a step – in the right direction.
The men surrounding Governor Tim Walz today – Jensen, Langer, and Harrington – are men of accomplishment, courage, conviction, and leadership.
They have proven themselves time and time again and should give comfort to all Minnesotans that their beloved Capitol City and largest City will be protected as we go into the weekend under threat of further violence and bloodshed.
These are men that lead from the front.
They do not wear disguises of leadership and surround themselves with sycophants.
The Governor, whose leadership I find to be of mixed success, has publicly made it clear that he will not countenance a repeat of Frey and Carter’s failed leadership.
He has taken away the keys to their clown car and in doing so has vowed to restore order, and honor, back to our communities under threat from criminals.
The voices of dissent and protest in the Twin Cities were not heard last night despite the good intentions of those who gathered to voice truth to power.
I am angry that George Floyd lost his life because Derek Chauvin failed to uphold his oath and tarnished the good work of so many members of law enforcement throughout the United States.
I’m angry that far too many Americans of color continue to be traumatized by inequality and inequity and violence from a system that desperately needs to change.
When the dust settles, the looting subsides and the fires die down, Minnesota will require lots of healing. Perhaps we can lead the way for our nation in restoring community trust in law enforcement and change a system that too often targets people of color.
Jacob Frey and Melvin Carter are not the ones to lead that charge.
When our state needed them to lead from the front, they couldn’t summon the courage to lead from the rear.
They, along with the criminals who burned our beloved cities, must be held accountable for what they have done – and most of all, what they have failed to do.
Jun 4, 2020 11:27:58 #
Chaos under Trump? This is not Trump's job. This and all these riots are under the aegis of the local government officials in this case and in all the big cities cases, under Democrats. And it's a showcase of how Democrat philosophy demonstrates how not to govern.
Jun 4, 2020 11:39:39 #
Sadly, it is the same here. The Mayor of the City of St. Louis is Lyda Krewson (D). Before becoming the Mayor, she was the CFO of a Design Firm and she served for a while as an Alderman.
Monday night we had four active police officers shot and the retired Chief of Police was shot and killed as he stood guard at a pawn shop. The downtown 7-11 was destroyed, looted and burned. Cars were burned in the street. Videos were taken showing cars driving in the streets with multiple gun fire coming out their windows as they drive by. It was a scene reminiscent of a true war zone.
The Missouri National Guard stands ready to go and their equipment is staged at the airport. The Mayor has asked the Governor (R) not to deploy them for she does not want a military presence in 'her city'.
Fortunately for us, we are 14-miles away from the war zone and although I doubt the violence will find its way here I am prepared to defend our lives and property to the death....either theirs or mine.
Monday night we had four active police officers shot and the retired Chief of Police was shot and killed as he stood guard at a pawn shop. The downtown 7-11 was destroyed, looted and burned. Cars were burned in the street. Videos were taken showing cars driving in the streets with multiple gun fire coming out their windows as they drive by. It was a scene reminiscent of a true war zone.
The Missouri National Guard stands ready to go and their equipment is staged at the airport. The Mayor has asked the Governor (R) not to deploy them for she does not want a military presence in 'her city'.
Fortunately for us, we are 14-miles away from the war zone and although I doubt the violence will find its way here I am prepared to defend our lives and property to the death....either theirs or mine.
Jun 4, 2020 13:11:24 #
In California, the Democrat solution to the burning of businesses and the riots is: DEFUND THE POLICE.
Jun 4, 2020 15:58:39 #
travelwp wrote:
In California, the Democrat solution to the burning of businesses and the riots is: DEFUND THE POLICE.
Oh...we have no fear now, Our Democratic Mayor of the City of St. Louis, MO has issued the dreaded "Curfew" so the residents have to be off the streets at night now. That will stop them for the rioters truly fear breaking any laws.
It's a shame that she had to resort to issuing the curfew. Of course there is the plea for the rioters to 'self quarantine' for 14-days after being out in the crowds as they riot. I guess that will keep them from rioting too.
What a joke! I hope that she has a good excuse to the families of the four officers shot in the line of duty and to the grieving family of the former chief of police that as murdered while guarding a store from vandilism.
No worry though, I'm confident that she will be re-elected as all of the City of St. Louis, MO Democratic Mayors have in the past. Oh by the way, it is also one of the murder capitals in the nation too.
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