Raymond Dehn is a liberal mayoral candidate for the City of Minneapolis. Honestly, I could stop writing at this point, and the title and this sentence would explain itself.
But I will continue, because it’s really worth discussing, not to mention the response from the current mayor, and everyone’s favorite white woman to hate this month, Betsy Hodges.
Dehn, coming off the “high” of winning the vote at the Democratic Farmer Labor convention, a Minnesota affair that unquestionably relies on communist values, decided to open up to the media at random about his plan concerning the Minneapolis Police Department.
As you may recall, a shooting death just occurred in the southwest part of the city, where Justine Damond was killed by Officer Mohamed Noor while trying to report a sexual assault. The reasons for his decision are not clear because he’s refusing to make a statement, and appears to be awaiting the conclusion of the investigation, which will undoubtedly bring charges against him.
But Dehn has decided to prove himself, and his ultra-liberal values, to be exactly what they reveal themselves to be over and over again, knee-jerk.
He’s decided that disarming MPD is the appropriate “reform” in light of this single incident. Take note, that MPD has not had any use of force incidents under federal review since 2006, and while they have experienced accusations of racism, both internally and externally, maintain a healthy track record of appropriate force, as compared to other large urban communities. This one incident is an outliar to all the good work done by MPD officers.
But when you’re a liberal, trying to overtake a liberal, you have to say more outrageous things they have said in order to get that coveted news microphone in front of your face, so Dehn stated that MPD officers shouldn’t have their firearms, and that their only access should be within their cars. He then made a bunch of reinforcement statements stating that this was really important.
So, I don’t assume anyone’s political ties, and I don’t go out of my way to badger either side, but I am taking my tone with this, because this is the quintessential ‘out of touch’ liberal that conservatives talk about, by and large. If you’re a liberal reading this, and you’ve ever asked conservatives you know what their problem with your side of the sandbox is, this is it. People like this on the left exist, and they shouldn’t be allowed to represent the left, let alone speak out loud in public.
Dehn makes his one point, albeit a small one, when you compare it to the amount of things that the left and right disagree about, but when conservatives discuss why the left is wrong, he is the classic example. If you are a liberal, you should not be supporting this guy. You should not condone what he’s saying. You should tell all your friends in Minneapolis not to vote for him. I say this, not because I want to tell you what to do, I say this because if we’re ever going to reach a place in this country where logic and reason rule the day, and not feelings, we’re going to have to exclude people like Dehn, who reacts with his feelings, and has no experience in law enforcement, other than apparently serving as a State Representative where he’s not even completed his first term on the Public Safety Committee.
He lacks key experience, and he lacks context, and he’s trying to make up for it by saying outlandish things that incite certain people to feel like he’s a savior. Well, he’s not. He’s trying to get people killed, mainly officers. And if he’s not, then he hasn’t thought his stance and it’s consequences through.
This month alone, three officers, and two K-9 dogs have been killed by gunfire. One officer, Lieutenant Aaron Allen of the Southport Police Department in Indiana, died less then 48 hours after Dehn’s statement was made, by a person who’s car had rolled over during a collision, when that person exited the vehicle and shot him. Lt. Allen came to save people trapped in a car, and doesn’t get to return to his family because of it. The outcome unfortunately would not be any different, but imagine being told at your job there’s a solid chance you’re going to get shot at for simply being associated with said job, and you’re not allowed to have adequate tools to defend yourself.
This is why Dehn’s big idea (or rather, mouth) is useless, and it is exactly why liberal more than any other group need to reject him. He’s not safe as a leader, and I would imagine he’s gotten away thus far as a junior representative, and sitting one various boards because he hasn’t taken any hard positions prior to this.
But his big mouth, er…idea, brought on an interesting response from the Mayor.
And I quote, “And if we’re going to talk about changes in gun policy, we shouldn’t start with police officers, who are going to be operating in a world with people who have guns.”
She places a lot of inflection on the word ‘start,’ and it probably doesn’t surprise too many that a far-left liberal would make a state indicative of their belief that disarming citizens is the answer. But she says start, as in, “disarming police could eventually be an option, but that whole second amendment of the Constitution is getting in the way of this progress, so we’ll have to really work on removing the second amendment.”
Look, they both are saying things typical of the current climate, both politically and socially, so this one outburst doesn’t really get the coverage it deserves. Quite frankly, there was a time when someone like Dehn would be automatically disqualified from running or continuing to serve in office for making such a statement, and that standard shouldn’t be any different today. The need for armed law enforcement in the US is stronger now than every before. Ambushes, planned shootings, hi-jacking of buildings, schools, and the list of violent acts continue to rage on in this country. And let’s not forget that a mere three years ago we had half a dozen incidents of attempted or carried-out beheadings in the US. Only with a view of one’s backyard exclusively could anyone say that disarming police in the US is an option. And the fact that Mayor Hodges has tipped her hand, with the intent on disarming Minneapolis citizens is not just mere fodder, but a real window in to the city that Dern, she, and other like-minded liberals have in mind.
Disarming police so they can die faster in the streets isn’t going to bring Justine Damond back. The thought is such a disgusting tribute to the loss of her, that it is insulting to the family. That her name would ultimately be associated with all the MPD officers killed in the line of duty is abominable. But quite frankly, that’s the sort of thing that a knee-jerk politician like Dehn would love. His name minimally attached, and a victim of poor judgment linked, so that our voting public in that future era would have a hard time weighing truth.
People like Dehn and Hodges are opportunists, and their type of behavior is not solely on the left, it just happens that this example presented itself now.
They are part of the problem. All of us need to be part of the solution. Don’t vote Dehn, don’t re-elect Hodges. Get them out.
Matthew Ballantyne 