The battle for Minneapolis, Tim Walz vs. Scott Jensen edition

Since the George Floyd riots in the summer of 2020, Minneapolis has been a mess in terms of enforcing the law. Things aren't getting better based on what happened this past Independence Day Weekend. This isn't surprising to thinking people but it's beyond disappointing in the extreme.

Just how bad did things get? Pretty rotten, according to this Alpha News article. According to the article, "The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) had just 80-plus officers on duty Monday night to respond to the city’s more than 1,300 9-1-1 calls. The city was besieged by violence when the sun went down on Independence Day. Fireworks were launched at people and homes and up to 12 people were injured by gunfire."

Thank God for Tim Walz being on the job. According to this Fox9 News article, Dr. Jensen criticized Gov. Walz, saying "What in the world are you thinking? You’ve got levers to pull. You could be making things happen. Minnesotans are getting so damn tired of you freezing up." In reaction to Dr. Jensen's criticism, "Walz credited coordination between the state and city with a modest reduction in violent crime."

Tim Walz isn't a leader. He's a reactionary liberal who isn't exercising leadership. Walz doesn't have a vision for where he wants to take Minnesota. Where's Gov. Walz's plan to prevent crime? What's Gov. Walz's plan to create a vibrant Minnesota economy? The point is that Gov. Walz is constantly reacting.

The coordination is responsible for more than 170 arrests and 109 gun confiscations in recent weeks, Walz said.

Violent crime in Minneapolis has cooled somewhat this year. There have been 44 homicides compared with 55 at this point a year ago, 265 gunshot wound victims versus 316 last year, and 4,989 shots fired calls compared with 5,329 by this date in 2021, city records indicate.

But all three statistics remain much higher than their pre-2020 averages. At this point in the three previous years, there had been 35 homicides, 224 gunshot victims, and 3,753 calls for shots fired.

Tim Walz is walking a tightrope. He needs to stop crime. If he does, though, he risks making hardline progressives mad. The DFL isn't diagnosing the problem right:

During a Tuesday press conference, Mayor Jacob Frey called for gun reform, saying guns were a "common denominator. Guns make a difficult situation treacherous. The fact that (political) parties cannot rally around the obvious — which is we need to restrict these unlimited gun sales that have consistently gone out to the general public and then illegal gun sales from there. It’s getting ridiculous," Frey said.

According to the mayor, guns are coming into the city "by the trunk-load."

That isn't the solution to this problem:

Watch this video:

The video is 3+ minutes long. Where were the police? I don't say this to vilify them but to re-highlight this distressing fact:

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) had just 80-plus officers on duty Monday night to respond to the city’s more than 1,300 9-1-1 calls. The city was besieged by violence when the sun went down on Independence Day. Fireworks were launched at people and homes and up to 12 people were injured by gunfire.

It's time for Minneapolis to get its $hit together. Protecting its people should be its highest priority. This is eyer-opening:

"It’s not as if we’re going to go in and displace the Minneapolis Police. They have primary jurisdiction," Walz told reporters at the state Capitol. "We’ll be redoubling our high visibility efforts with the city of Minneapolis over the next few months. We’ll continue to provide as much assistance as we can."

Crime is a potent issue in Walz's re-election this fall. His presumptive Republican opponent, Dr. Scott Jensen, blasted Walz in a Wednesday social media post.

"What in the world are you thinking? You’ve got levers to pull," Jensen said. "You could be making things happen. Minnesotans are getting so damn tired of you freezing up."

Walz sounds like a career politician. Dr. Jensen sounds like a leader. Right now, Minneapolis and Minnesota need a leader.