Roy Exum
I neither cared nor had interest when the squirrelies in Washington tried to impeach former President Donald Trump. I can see reason, particularly in his last days as he grew into a flaming temper tantrum, but the lies and character assassinations were coming so furiously, and the fact they were fueled by personal hatred, was not just wrong but guaranteed failure in both efforts as cooler heads prevailed. Conversely, I am in total agreement an 84-year-old tottering relic in our Congress should be sent home for clearly inciting a riot in strife-torn Minneapolis.
Ever since the volatile racist Maxine Waters (D-Cal.) was elected by The Left Coast in 1991, she has increasingly become a rabble-rising ghoul and this weekend, when the woman oblivious to national shame and forever carrying a grudge, unmistakably incited a riot with the words that protesters “must get more confrontational” to law enforcement, I believe the Justice Department has due cause to put her evil self behind bars. Waters extolled the protesters to “stay on the street,” and to “get more active … more confrontational.”
Waters’ babble came after a curfew was called in Brooklyn Heights, Minn., a suburban area of Minneapolis where the murder trial of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin was placed in the hands of the jury late Monday afternoon. Waters shrugged off the curfew break, saying tersely that she “didn’t agree with it.” Meanwhile, Minneapolis looks like a military installation at present, a huge presence of the National Guard on display, in addition to federal, state, and local police units on high alert. Other large cities across America have also fortified law enforcement.
Controlling the impending national rage is the second side of a double-edged sword President Joe Biden is juggling today. Over three weeks ago he placed Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the border catastrophe, and she has had no press briefing since. Rioting has never ceased in Portland after last year’s tumultuous summer and has been ignited anew in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and other liberal-led cities.
Waters surprised protesters in Minnesota Saturday night, explained she “couldn’t sleep” after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was accidentally shot by a police officer there last week. In 2018, Waters was livid during Trump’s first impeachment proceedings, saying, “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up,” the octogenarian Congresswoman yelped. “And if you see anybody from that (Minn.) cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they aren’t welcome anymore, anywhere!”
Saturday night’s venom was just as vicious and many an observer believes Maxine was creating one last photo-op. Others, such as the New York Post editorial board, have called for Waters’s impeachment, making it quite clear in the board’s view that the Congresswoman’s “irresponsible rhetoric is inciting violence.”
The Post op-ed noted Waters was quick to depart the Twin Cities early Saturday morning and likened her to an instigator who never stays in threatening situations to see the works of wrath occur. “After pouring fuel on the fire in Minnesota, she encouraged everyone to keep protesting -though she herself would not be.”
The board wrote, “Maxine Waters is trying to create a civil war, and her irresponsible rhetoric is inciting violence. House speaker Nancy Pelosi should strip her of her committee assignments and move for a vote to remove Waters from office.”
Not surprisingly, the 80-year-old Pelosi was true to her party. “No, Maxine doesn’t (have to apologize.) Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil right movement. I, myself, think we should take our lead from the George Floyd family,” said the Speaker of the House. “They’ve handled this with great dignity, and no ambiguity or lack thereof – misinterpretation by the other side.
“So no, I don’t think she should apologize,” said Pelosi. “Well, do you think Waters’ comments might incite violence? No, absolutely not.”
Oh mercy … On behalf of law enforcement, and National Guard troops who never dreamed they would one day face insurrection on their own streets, might I offer: “Wanna’ bet?”
royexum@aol.com