This has to be a statistic Republicans love, but as most statistics, it does not tell the entire truth. This link claims these are the 15 most crime-ridden cities in the country. Here they are:

1 New Orleans, LA
2 Camden, NJ
3 Detroit, MI
4 St. Louis, MO
5 Oakland, CA
6 Flint, MI
7 Gary, IN
8 Birmingham, AL
9 Richmond, CA
10 North Charleston, SC
11 Cleveland, OH
12 Baltimore, MD
13 Miami Gardens, FL
14 Memphis, TN
15 Youngstown, OH

The link claims that none of these places has a Republican mayor. I don’t deny any of that. These are Democratic strongholds and have been for years.

Many Republicans would like to emphasize that the crime and Democratic control is a cause and effect. They would also like to emphasize that the most prosperous cities have Republican mayors. That is supposed to be a cause and effect as well.

If it was all that simple, we would all be Republicans. Just think…elect a Republican, and your town is on its way to being Beverly Hills.

The truth is being a Republican does not make someone rich and well-behaved and being a Democrat does not make someone poor and criminal.

It all goes back to Adam Smith and self-interest. Only in this case it applies to politics. If people are rich, they tend to be a Republican. If people are poor, they tend to be Democrat. Poor people commit more crime, or maybe the rich are just better at covering it up until they are caught, like at Enron.

Once a place gets as depressed as Oakland or Gary, the magic bullets disappear. If someone has a solution that will work to change those places, they will be elected, Democrat or Republican. That’s what it is all about.