Philadelphia’s Fall Continues: Highest Murder Rate Of The Largest U.S. Cities

According to CBS News on Saturday, at least 314 Philadelphians have been murdered already this year, putting the City of Brotherly Love unenviably at top of the list for murder rates in the ten largest American cities. Less than three months ago in an essay from The Blue State Conservative titled “Philadelphia’s Fall: A Microcosm of Democrat Devastation,” the following prediction and evaluation were made: “Violent crime will continue to increase, tax rates and spending will become unsustainable, and infrastructure will fall apart. Perhaps only then, cities like Philadelphia will recognize that the Democrats they support are in fact destroying the cities they love.” Unfortunately, that prediction has been all too accurate, and we’ve seen no sign of citizens’ enlightenment.

The murder rate in Philadelphia this year is up 35% over last year, but that statistic only begins to tell the story. Last year’s murder rate in Philly was up by 40% over 2019 and was in fact a 30-year high. We had to look all the way back to 1990 to find a comparable murder rate to 2020 in the city. As the carnage in Philly piles up in 2021, there’s no telling how far back we’ll have to go at year’s end to find a similar, equally disastrous year.

To fully understand the magnitude of the killing taking place in Philadelphia, consider this chilling statistic: as of last week, the numbers of homicides in the city already in 2021 surpassed “the full-year totals in six of the past 12 years.” For those who haven’t checked the calendar recently, we’re barely at the halfway point of 2021.

It’s also worth noting that the current plague of violence is impacting the black community at a dramatically higher rate than other ethnic groups, with over 85% of all homicide victims last year being black folks, even though they make up only 44% of the population. If black lives truly matter, why hasn’t Black Lives Matter descended on Philadelphia to help put a stop to this massacre?

What’s driving the city’s bloodbath? Democrats across the country like to blame the COVID pandemic on everything that ails them. Can’t balance the budget? Blame COVID. Bad test scores from your school districts? COVID is the culprit. Bus routes running late? It’s that darned virus, again. And Philly’s murder rate is no exception.

When former Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell opined earlier this year that current Mayor Jim Kenney should consider bringing back retired police officers to stem the violence, Kenney explained, “Ed Rendell was a great mayor, was a great governor, a great person. Ed Rendell was not dealing with a pandemic.” Note that COVID vaccines were being given throughout Philadelphia by New Year’s Day. As the year has progressed, lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID have been lifted in Philadelphia. And just like everywhere else in the country, daily life in Philly has been mostly back to pre-COVID normal for months now, except for the fact that you have a much greater chance of being slaughtered if you leave your house.

The problem isn’t COVID. The problem isn’t guns. And the problem isn’t a lack of support from the federal or state governments. The problem is Democratic governance. The last time the city of Philadelphia wasn’t run by a Democrat was 1952, when a man named of Harry S. Truman was patrolling the White House a few hours south in Washington, D.C. Democrats in Philadelphia outnumber Republicans by almost seven to one, and Democrats own the butchery that now torments their town.

Democrats are the party of not only “Defund the Police,” but also of “Demonize the Police.” Last year as Democratic officials across the country pointed their fingers at the men and women in blue, accusing them collectively of being riddled with systemic racism, police officers everywhere gave them a big middle finger. Thousands resigned or retired, and Philadelphia’s police were no exception, and it’s difficult to blame them. As of early-May, the city had hundreds of police officer vacancies and was having significant difficulty in filling them.

Current Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, of course, has been an utter disaster. Krasner was elected in 2017 with a radical, left-wing agenda. Upon taking office, Krasner fired over one-third of his homicide department, weakening its ability to hold murderers accountable. He declared the city would no longer enforce marijuana laws, helping to promote lawlessness on the streets. Krasner reduced sentencing lengths, leading to criminals returning to Philly’s streets sooner, or in some cases avoiding jail time altogether. And while Krasner was focused on police misconduct, killers like Hassan Elliot were left to walk free and kill again.

Krasner is up for reelection this year, and with an out-of-control murder rate and declining rule of law in his city, he surely must have been clobbered in his primary election battle in May, right? Not a chance. Krasner beat challenger Carlos Vega in a landslide and is almost guaranteed to defeat his Republican opponent in November. And Krasner has your tax dollars, in part, to thank for his overwhelming victory.

Taxpayer-funded PBS ran an eight-part series called “Philly D.A” as part of their Independent Lens programming, and to say the series painted Krasner in a favorable light would be a major understatement. The series was little more than a lengthy Krasner campaign commercial. Krasner is so innovative and so compassionate, and so progressive, PBS told us. Larry Krasner is simply wonderful, according to PBS, so it’s no wonder he’s poised to be reelected. If we were to apply to this situation President Joe Biden’s logic that Facebook is responsible for “killing people” due to alleged misinformation being published, then PBS is covered with blood.

Promotions by PBS for “Philly D.A.” included footage of Larry Krasner in a government hearing exclaiming, “You’re being lied to!” and he was right. When Krasner claims that the problems in Philadelphia are due to police and that the city has too many people in jail, you’re being lied to. When Democrats claim to be working for your best interests, you’re being lied to. And when Philadelphia Democrats point to anything other than their own incompetence as the cause for hundreds of citizens being cut down on their streets, you’re being lied to.

Photo by esu105 at Flickr.