Wednesday, March 14, 2007

TAKE A WALK, Tom Barrett

So it took a lengthy string of robberies, occurring since DECEMBER 2006, to get Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to respond.

As reported in
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

[Police spokeswoman Anne E.] Schwartz said police officials, Mayor Tom Barrett and area residents planned to walk through Bay View tonight night to promote safety.

Of course, this is a purely symbolic gesture.

I'm not knocking symbolism.

It says something that the mayor and Bay View residents are going on their walk. It says that people who live and work in the area aren't going to allow their neighborhood to be like so many of the other neighborhoods in Milwaukee -- violent, dangerous, chaotic hellholes.

It also says that Barrett wants to show that he cares. I believe he does care. I don't think he's a bad guy. I just think he's failing miserably when it comes to dealing with crime.

Unfortunately, appearing at the safety walk isn't enough. Speeches about stricter gun legislation out of Madison aren't enough. Giving commonsense tips about keeping a home and business safe isn't enough.

The fact is the buck stops with Barrett. He avoids "the buck" like the plague, but there's no dodging it.

How many times have we heard the Left refer to "Bush's war"?

I suppose the robberies should be called "Barrett's crime."

What is Barrett proposing to deal with "his" crime? A surge?

I demand a timetable. I want to see progress in Milwaukee by .... What's a good date?

How about Memorial Day? Sound good to you?

Yes, I like it -- Memorial Day it is.

Barrett has to take REAL action to tackle the crime problem immediately.

He has to do more than walk.

His time would be better spent tonight reading Rudy Giuliani's book, Leadership.


3 comments:

Dave said...

Mary> So I ask again adding a third class of officers to this years class isn't doing anything?

Mary said...

I'll answer you again--

There's a difference between doing "anything" and doing enough.

Obviously, Barrett is failing the city.

Why did it take TWENTY robberies to get him to take a walk?

Mary said...

You're right. Who needs the mayor or the National Guard when you can light a candle? :)

As far as the demographics of Bay View go, I wonder if these Dem voters are going to wake up and realize that their Dem leaders don't know how to manage crime.

Maybe now they'd be comfortable with a pseudo-Dem like David Clarke taking over the reins of the city.