Baltimore Is A Democrat Problem? Think Again, Says Congressman

“Baltimore is a Democrat problem.” That has been the rallying cry of Republicans tired of being blamed for problems in urban communities.

But Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, has a message for these remarks: think again.

Cummings was confronted with the fact that Baltimore has been represented by Democratic rule at the city, state, and federal levels for the better part of 47 years, as reported by CNN’s Chris Cuomo.

“You guys are as responsible for what has and hasn’t been done as anybody else, isn’t that fair?” Cuomo asked Cummings. Here was the Congressman’s reply.

“Come on, Chris. It’s not about personalities, it’s about policy. And you know and I know that a lot of the policies coming down from Washington — coming down from the state, actually, too — but coming from Washington are not necessarily kind to urban areas.”

Cummings then referenced the fact that Freddie Gray, the deceased man at the heart of the Baltimore protests, had lead poisoning, something the Grays had received a settlement on years ago.

“We just found out that that budget has been cut 33 percent, the neighborhood’s budget figure has been cut some 70 percent. So, come on.”

https://youtu.be/0zTokSpFvH4

For many readers on the Mediaite website, Cummings did a poor job of illustrating how Baltimore wasn’t a Democrat problem considering how long the city and state has been under Democrat control.

“The examples he gave have nothing to do with anyone other than Democrats who are in charge for the past 40 years,” wrote one befuddled commenter. “Why do they even put this guy on and ask him questions? He’s never going to answer them properly and will always blame Republicans.”

The puzzlement and blame for Baltimore being a Democrat problem didn’t just come from Republicans either.

“Anytime you expand the government and decrease liberties, you will get cities like Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Chicago,” wrote a second commenter. “Baltimore is definitely the fault of Democrats, but Republicans expand government too and see their fair share of failures.”

A third commenter was left wondering “what does this [response] even mean? What does that even MEAN? The problems within any given city stop with that city’s leaders.”

What do you think, readers? Do a city’s problems begin and end with city leaders, or does state and federal involvement play a major role?

Also, in the case of the rioting over Freddie Gray’s death, do you think Baltimore is a Democrat problem or a Republican? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image via Wikipedia Commons]