Short of doing something illegal, which is not exactly unheard of in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I have done everything within my limited power to get rid of Larry Krasner.
Krasner, Philadelphia’s progressive District Attorney, is presiding over the largest spike in violent crime, including homicides, in recent history: Our own Philly Killing Fields.
These are the things that I did:
- Wrote numerous articles about the damage that he is doing to the city, particularly his callous mistreatment of victims and their families;
- Battled mightily on social media with people who have misrepresented his actions and minimized the carnage, including people with blue checks next to their names like Philadelphia city council members and Philadelphia mayors;
- Changed my registration from Republican to Democrat so I could vote against him in the May primary;
- Voted against him in the May primary, even though Krasner’s coterie of supporters tried to keep me from getting to the polls (as I wrote in a previous column);
- Supported Charles Peruto in the general election, both by interviewing him online and voting for him in person;
- Hosted radio programs where informed guests explained just how dangerous he has been, and still is, to the orderly administration of justice.
I’ve also channeled my Italian grandmother and relatives from her generation and invoked the malocchio, a/k/a, “Evil Eye” in the hope that he comes down with a debilitating case of dengue fever. (Don’t worry, it’s not fatal.)
Nothing has worked, because he is still there, and his supporters are still spreading their lies about how there is no “crisis of violence” in the city of Philadelphia.
So I’ve come to realize that this is out of my hands, and we need to look to others with more power, authority, and connections to neutralize this progressive threat. One of those people has made his move, and I applaud him with every sinew and bone in my body.
That person is state Sen. Jake Corman, who is running for the gubernatorial seat up for grabs because the current occupant, Tom Wolf, is limited (hallelujah!) from seeking a third term. But first things first.
This week, Corman sent a letter to state House Leader Bryan Cutler, urging him to initiate impeachment proceedings against Krasner. Corman noted, “The recent spike in violent crime is a direct result of DA Krasner’s failed policies and his refusal to perform the duties of his office to hold criminals accountable for the crimes that they commit. His decision to allow more and more criminals to walk free through plea deals and dismissed charges has created an environment in which Philadelphians are no longer safe in their own homes and communities.”
As someone who is currently living and working in Philadelphia, I can attest to the truth of that last sentence. I no longer feel safe walking the streets, taking public transportation, or even going into a store. I no longer feel as if I can travel in a car in the city without some delinquent brandishing a gun and trying to carjack the vehicle.
How can you blame me, a person without a security detail, for feeling that apprehension when just weeks ago my congressional representative Mary Gay Scanlon was herself the victim of a carjacking in broad daylight? She has the full force of the federal government behind her, while I have a months-old container of pepper spray and a bad Italian-Irish attitude.
While I can make offhanded jokes about it, there is nothing funny about the crime statistics in my beloved hometown, statistics that are directly attributable to the gross mismanagement of Larry Krasner. This is a man who is not even capable of taking responsibility for what is happening on his watch but instead tries to shift the blame on the dreaded bogeyman of all radical leftists: Republicans. His refusal to even acknowledge the rising tide of crime in the city was so egregious that former Mayor Michael Nutter, no conservative, wrote a scathing op-ed that read like an Emile Zola-esque “J’accuse” against a man and an administration that have no respect for human life.
There is no justification for Krasner’s malfeasance, and this ridiculous idea that he won in a landslide victory in November ignores the cogent fact that less than 30 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. In some wards, they couldn’t even crack 10 percent. So Krasner won through apathy, not enthusiasm.
That’s why Corman’s letter is important. Philadelphia is only one city in the commonwealth, but what happens in Philly doesn’t just stay in Philly. It bleeds over into other parts of the state, with “bleeds” being the operative word.
I was myself a victim of crime on public transportation heading out of the city proper, and that was only a day before another person was raped and abused, while other passengers did nothing to intervene, on a train headed toward the near suburbs.
The House is the only body that could move to impeach Krasner, and they have an obligation to do so. If the voters won’t protect their neighbors from a man who is clearly disinterested in stopping the violence in our streets, either through ideological malice or voting day apathy, it’s up to the legislature to do it.
I applaud Sen. Corman for his initiative and hope the House picks up the baton and does what no one else can do: Get rid of Krasner, once and for all.
