By: Ken Willette – 4-24
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it—a stark warning during turbulent periods of our nation’s journey. One of my friends, Bob Rapazzo, is a world traveler who has been pictured outside the Great Pyramid of Giza and walked the same steps of ancient Greek philosophers.
He once worked for the famous Bishop’s Restaurant in Lawrence. Recently, he showed me a 1974 photo of serial criminal Willie Horton being hauled away from the Lawrence Police HQ—with the restaurant clearly in the background.
Being only one year old at the time, I obviously had no discernible memory of the event, but it invoked later images of the 1988 Presidential Elections. Back then Massachusetts Miracle Mike Dukakis had secured the Democratic nomination, and at one point was ahead of VP George H.W. Bush in the polls.
Suddenly, Horton entered the national scene like an uncontrollable wildfire. Horton was a direct beneficiary of Miracle Mike’s benevolence toward hard-core, deadly criminals, many of whom subsequently abused the gaping holes in his open-door policies.
The unrepentant Horton was granted a weekend furlough whereby he escaped to Maryland, terrorized a couple, and raped the fiancée repeatedly at gunpoint. What is forever ingrained in my mind was the ice-cold response given by Miracle Mike when asked by CNN’s Bernard Shaw what he would do if his wife, Kitty, was raped and murdered. His reply was the final death knell to his dreams for the White House.
Bush further capitalized on the weakness of the Dukakis campaign by airing one of the most effective ads in American political history, showcasing criminals going through a revolving door— a powerful imagery that could easily resonate with voters this November. The widespread carnage of murderer Horton epitomizes the protection of criminals by 2024 Radicals. A hero cop in NY recently gunned down by a thug with a 21-arrest rap sheet is a déjà vu reminder of deadly policy failure.
To this day, Horton denies his crimes. The Leftist media continue to write hit pieces that portray race playing a prominent role in the Bush campaign (even though the ad clearly had actors from all racial backgrounds). Weak politicians from Oakland to Chicago and NYC enacted pro-criminal policies that repeat the same mistakes of their urban counterparts from decades ago.
From Governor Healey’s questionable comment that “things will happen” in the aftermath of the rape of a 15-year-old girl, to the tone-deaf reaction of the Biden White House after Laken Riley’s brutal murder, can we really assert that our communities are safer today than 4 years ago? Perceptions of reality are so bad that Biden instructed federal agencies not to use the term “illegal alien” because it may cause sensitivity issues. Unreal!
The Leftists are running for their political lives. Did you notice the election year, 180 degree-turn of New York Governor Hochul who is now stationing National Guard soldiers in NYC’s subways.
Listen, you could resurrect General George Patton and his army, position them in the subways, and they would not make any lasting impact if Radical Leftist District Attorneys and judges are releasing repeat offenders the same day and not imposing long-term sentences.
This is nothing but smoke and mirrors because the Governor supports the New York for All Act, which strictly prohibits law enforcement from directing illegal alien criminals to ICE authorities—including MS-13 gangbangers.
What a pressure cooker for NYC’s Mayor Adams when faced with hundreds of Asian Americans from Brooklyn protesting the placement of illegals at a cherished recreational center. So much for the theory that only extremist white male MAGAs could possibly protest the flood of illegal aliens. Maybe someone can wake up Biden and inform him that the Dominican Republic installed fences along the border with Haiti and their troops immediately expel illegal entries by Haitians.
You really think that the same Antifa, anti-cop mob and their Radical enablers who seek to defund the police, who denigrate the Thin Blue Line on social media and during public hearings, and who advocate open borders and prisons, are now the responsible adults to solve rampant crime across blue states. Give me the name of any Massachusetts liberal leader within the last 40 years who was tough on criminals.
Imagine if some ignorant Americans claimed that all members of our armed forces were forever tainted by the horrors of the My Lai Massacre. Most Americans would reject that mentality, as millions served honorably, hundreds of thousands died in service and their actions have liberated hundreds of millions across the planet.
Yet why are so many Radical leaders condoning online fools who equate every cop interaction with a potential George Floyd scenario. During Obama’s last year in office, a gunman viciously assassinated five Dallas police officers in cold blood, while only a few days later three more cops were massacred in Baton Rouge. Where is the red-hot outrage on that senseless violence?
Picture the psychological toll on police who are routinely re-arresting the same perps time and time again, knowing that escalation, death, and permanent suffering may be coming from the next 911 call. Imagine the cowardly accusations of systemic racism– even against law enforcement brothers and sisters of color– from repeat offenders at traffic stops. That sense of poor morale and negative community support is certainly manifested in mass retirements and a staggering suicide rate among law enforcement.
Do we really want to go back to the lawless days of New York City during the 1970s and 1980s? The graffiti, the broken windows, the garbage in the streets, the blatant criminal activity, the flight of businesses and the record murder rate. Do we want to export that level of pervasive chaos to Boston or elsewhere in our Commonwealth? Can we ultimately stop the madness?
Maybe a clean sweep this November will help, including a new majority in the United States Senate. Then maybe Miracle Mike and Clueless Joe can compare campaign notes. ◊