Portland Voters Decide They Like Law Enforcement, After All

Image courtesy NSSF

It’s almost as if making radical, emotion-driven changes to the civic contract results in civic chaos. Who knew?

Remember the 2020 “Summer of Love,” in which the entire nation went up in flames over the death of George Floyd? Remember how a full 82 percent of Portland, Oregon voters proudly cast their ballots to defund the police? Portland’s District Attorney, a walking Adam’s apple named Mike Schmidt (seriously, do they clone these little weasels from the same man-bun or what?), was elected as part of that fabulous “grassroots” movement they loved to call “Defund the Police.” With this very clear mandate, DA Schmidt proceeded to do exactly what Portlandia asked him to do: Not prosecute criminals.

Everyone felt very smug and righteous about this, and continued to feel smug and righteous as their downtown burned, as murder rates skyrocketed, as businesses closed and over 20,000 Portland residents vamoosed for better, more policed, areas. (We’ll assume that these included the 18% who voted against defunding the police.)

What was amazing about all of this was the universally positive news coverage. It seemed as if nobody could envision any outcome of this grand “people’s experiment” besides utopia. What’s even more amazing is that, if you go to Google’s news tab right now, and type in “Portland Oregon Defund the Police 2020,” you will receive zero results. Those fawning, credulous articles about how Portland was leading the way into a new style of law enforcement still exist, of course. They’ve just been de-listed from Google’s search.

Here’s the problem for the Soros-backed, Silicon Valley-enforced, mainstream-media anointed narrative: Human memories last longer than four years, and common sense can’t be purchased. Here’s another problem for those who wish that all of America looked like Portland right now: Portland voters have decided they like law enforcement, after all.

Here’s the NSSF with the full report!

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PORTLAND VOTERS SOUR ON SOROS-SUPPORTED DA SCHMIDT

By Matt Manda

It’s becoming increasingly common for voters to have buyers’ remorse and give the boot to progressive soft-on-crime prosecutors who are often financially backed by uber “social justice” reformer and billionaire George Soros. Portlanders joined that list, recognizing that “taking it easy” on criminals is a bad choice as crime has plagued the Rose City over the last several years.

Incumbent Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt was roundly rejected by voters who instead threw their support to a new DA, a former Republican who previously served in DA Schmidt’s office and who promised “to get tougher” on criminals and rejected his former boss’s leniency agenda.

The Hill reported on the voters’ 180-degree pivot, stating, “It was a remarkable rise-and-fall for an official who was elected to the office on a progressive platform months before the outbreak of protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020.”

DA Schmidt’s booting is just the most recent example of soft-on-crime prosecutors being shown the door. It’s a common response if citizens can’t be protected or feel safe and are also denied their Second Amendment rights to defend themselves.

A Record to Reject

A few years ago, Portland, Ore., was a hotbed of violence, looting and riots in 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the rise of “Defund the Police” movement. Broken windows and vandalism were common. The destruction even culminated with an attack on the downtown federal courthouse where rioters used Molotov cocktails to set fire to the building. In the aftermath, numerous businesses decided it was far too unsafe to continue to keep their doors open and closed up shop.

In that regard, the Soros-backed DA Schmidt was a perfect fit. DA Schmidt epitomized Soros’ soft-on-crime approach. After he announced his office’s “priorities” during his first week in office, Portland spiraled into chaos as crime soared and businesses and residents suffered. The Daily Caller labeled DA Schmidt as “a poster child for the disastrous and dangerous progressive prosecutor movement,” and his record shows it. Homicides hit a record high in 2022 and the city declared a state of emergency after an explosion of fentanyl deaths.

On top of the surging crime, the “Defund the Police” movement left its mark. The police budget was cut in 2021 and the damage was done. Police resigned en masse — with many citing DA Schmidt as the reason. On top of that, DA Schmidt’s refusal to prosecute criminals even if they were arrested led to plummeting morale among law enforcement who did remain.

The violence in the city culminated in 2022 when there were a record 73 homicides and more than 22,000 Portlanders left the city since 2020 when DA Schmidt was elected.

Long List of Losers

The ouster of DA Schmidt wasn’t all that surprising. His own failed leadership left voters with no other options. Once he was declared the winner, DA-elect Nathan Vazquez said, “The voters have made it clear that they are ready to take our county in a new and safer direction.”

DA Schmidt being shown the door is another sign voters who once accepted Soros-backed soft-on-crime prosecutors “saw the light” and now are swinging the pendulum back towards accountability for those who break the law.

In San Francisco, voters booted DA Chesa Boudin from office in 2022 in a recall election that had everything to do with his soft-on-crime policies, including a refusal to lock up criminals committing their crimes with firearms while at the same time denying law-abiding citizens their Second Amendment rights. The situation was so bad early in Boudin’s tenure, the San Francisco police told people they were out of luck if certain crimes were committed. They announced, publicly, that they wouldn’t respond to certain calls for help. Voters had enough and more than 60 percent of them voted to bounce Boudin, another Soros-backed prosecutor.

In Chicago, Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, also backed by Soros funding, saw the writing on the wall and announced that she – rather than face the humiliation of voter rejection – would not seek reelection in 2024. She had already served two terms and her lax approach to prosecuting criminals – including refusing to bring charges against criminals caught on video exchanging gunfire with police – led to protest resignations within her own office.

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner has demonstrated on several occasions why he typifies the Soros approach of coddling criminals. In the immediate aftermath of a horrific tragedy in Philadelphia, in which a mentally unstable man fired randomly killing five innocent bystanders, he called for more gun control on law-abiding Americans. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to impeach him in 2022.

And when, in 2023, it was revealed that a teen allegedly posted threats against a school on social media and was allegedly caught carrying stolen guns, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón had to be shamed into changing his mind after he refused to bring charges. You guessed it – DA Gascón enjoyed the early support of George Soros.

The list goes on like a career criminal’s rap sheet.

No Other Alternatives

When Americans – in this case, Portlanders – are reminded every single day that they are surrounded by criminals who feel emboldened to make them victims, they rightfully become fed up. Even voters in deep Blue Oregon, especially in Portland, made the right decision and swung the pendulum back in favor of law, order and consequences for those breaking the law.

At the same time as voters are making a change in the DA’s office in Portland, they are also seeing a strict gun control ballot initiative being placed on hold for consideration of whether it is even Constitutional. Ballot Measure 114, which NSSF is challenging in court, threatens to halt the lawful sale of firearms in Oregon, which would deny the most basic Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. That right begins with the ability for lawful purchasers to obtain a firearm through the legal sale from a licensed firearm retailer. Ballot Measure 114 was struck down in January but now faces an appeal by Oregon’s antigun state attorney general.

If Oregonians cannot rely on prosecutors to put criminals behind bars, they will search for security through other means, namely through lawfully purchasing a firearm. In Oregon, more than 1.7 million have done so since DA Schmidt was first elected to office in 2022, according to NSSF-adjusted NICS data on firearm purchases. The people’s verdict is in and the remaining Soros-backed prosecutors across the country may want to take notice.