Chicago hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1927, but Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman made the argument Friday that the GOP in Washington is to blame for the city’s gang and gun violence.
Mr. Zimmerman appeared on “CNN Newsroom” with Politics 365 contributor Jason Johnson and CNN contributor Ana Navarro, when he made the suggestion that congressional Republicans are undermining the troubled city with budget cuts.
“[L]et’s be very clear about what’s happening in Washington today, and why it’s undermining the city of Chicago — because there’s a mindset now in our government, in Washington, from the Republican members of Congress, that sequestration is an acceptable way of doing business, that we can in fact engage in these massive irresponsible cuts that no one thinks is a logical approach to budgeting,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “And that undermines law enforcement in our cities; it undermines so many education opportunities for our younger people, and it does in fact create an impoverished class of our society that leads to abuse, leads to violence and leads to more Chicagos.”
But Ms. Navarro didn’t buy the argument.
“Yes, I’m going to try not to roll my eyes at your suggestion that Republicans are the ones responsible for Rahm Emanuel’s city, for Barack Obama’s — President Obama’s state, for a state that’s mostly Democrat,” Ms. Navarro said. “Look, you all got to take responsibility, and you are laying the blame on Republicans and making this a partisan issue.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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