As Baltimore moves on from a week that saw riots, curfews and charges against six police officers, a new political fight erupted Sunday, with Republicans and Democrats trading shots over who is responsible for the extreme poverty gripping America’s inner cities.
GOP leaders blasted the “liberal policies” that the nation’s Democratic-run major cities have largely embraced, while Democrats attacked Republicans’ budget priorities and charged that the nation as a whole has abandoned cities such as Baltimore.
The need to confront poverty, create jobs and improve education in inner cities once again is a focal point in Washington and across the country, but there are deep divisions between the two parties on exactly how to tackle the problem.
Republicans and Democrats not only differ on the specifics of fighting poverty, each also blames the other for creating a climate where violence and unrest seemingly can break out at any moment.
“What we have is 50 years of liberal policies that have not worked to help the very people we want to help. It’s time to look at all these programs and determine what’s working and what isn’t,” House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program Sunday. “Because until we start to find programs that actually work and we provide opportunities, more opportunities and a better education, we’re going to have more of the same.”
The political fallout comes two days after authorities brought charges against six Baltimore cops in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, who died in custody last month after sustaining spinal injuries. The charges range from misconduct in office to second-degree murder.
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Gray’s death, the latest in a string of incidents in which black men have died at the hands of police officers, touched off a firestorm in Baltimore early last week. Rioters looted and burned city businesses and overturned police cars, ignoring pleas from President Obama and civil rights leaders to abandon violence in favor of peaceful protests. More than 100 police officers were injured, and almost 500 civilians arrested over the whole week.
The volatile situation led Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to institute a 10 p.m. curfew across the city. After days of peaceful protests, Ms. Rawlings-Blake lifted the curfew Sunday.
“My number one priority in instituting a curfew was to ensure the public peace, safety, health and welfare of Baltimore citizens,” she said in a statement. “It was not an easy decision, but one I felt was necessary to help our city restore calm.”
While Gray’s death provided the spark, political leaders say the groundwork for unrest and violence has been laid over a period of many years, reflecting a failure of massive proportion on the part of the federal government.
“We have built an economy that is leaving whole parts of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York [and] so many citizens behind,” said former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a likely 2016 presidential candidate who also served eight years as Baltimore mayor.
“There are people in whole parts of our cities who are being totally left behind and disregarded. They are unheard,” he continued on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program Sunday. “They are told they are unneeded by this economy. And that extreme poverty breeds conditions for extreme violence. People are frustrated, they’re angry, and they feel like people aren’t listening.”
Mr. O’Malley also said the nation lacks a clear “agenda” to address problems plaguing cities such as Baltimore.
Other Democrats were even more specific, saying Republican budget priorities are misguided, and that the party is simply unwilling to make the kind of financial investments needed to repair U.S. cities.
“We have made gains, but we know what’s happening in Baltimore. We’ve got a long ways to go, which is why we have put forward proposals to begin to address these kinds of matters on an urgent basis,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
“There are specific proposals right now in Congress that can make things better in places like Baltimore and around the country. And instead, what we passed in Congress [was] the Republicans [proposing] $10 million estates get[ting] no estate tax,” Mr. Van Hollen said.
Mr. Van Hollen — who is running to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski — was referring to a provision in the Republican budget that would repeal the estate tax.
Top Republicans believe it would be a mistake to simply pour more money into inner cities. Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said the federal government should consolidate programs aimed at helping the poor and give more flexibility to states.
“So I think we need to do another round of welfare reform, not to save money, but to save lives. And so it’s not a function of pumping more money into the same failed system, because we will just get the same failed result. It’s rethinking how we actually attack the root causes of poverty,” he said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “All we do these days effectively is treat the symptoms of poverty. Why don’t we figure out how to go at the root causes of poverty.”
Meanwhile, demonstrators are praising State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby for acting quickly to charge the six officers.
“Every prosecutor should have such backbone,” said Malik Shabazz, president of Black Lawyers for Justice and co-organizer of a so-called “victory rally” on Saturday. “Every prosecutor should have such spine.”
But critics say Ms. Mosby brought charges solely because of the public outcry.
“This is political activism. She’ll never prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, and I’m not going to silently stand by and watch my brother officers, offered up as human sacrifices, thrown like red meat to an angry mob, just to appease this angry mob,” Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke told Fox News on Friday.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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