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mk  ·  4583 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Rogues Loot Detroit As Nation Sleeps
Apparently Walter Russell Mead calls himself a Democrat, so I don't think he is practicing partisan politics here. However, this situation is so complicated, that looking at it through party politics doesn't help much, IMO. For instance, it is an over-simplification to think that the plight of Detroit has only to do with decisions made within the city or the state legislature. The suburbs that surround Detroit have also had a significant impact on what has transpired.

    The second factor is more disturbing: there is a pervasive national sense of ennui and despair about urban areas in which African Americans are the majority. ‘We’ expect decline, decay and corruption in these places, so the Kilpatrick story strikes many editors and journalists as just another ‘dog bites man’ story: not news.

This much is true. IMO liberals do black Americans a serious disfavor with their reluctance to loudly criticize irresponsible leaders of black cities. They vote for policies intended to improve the lives of urban black Americans, but don't speak out loudly enough when their efforts are hijacked and squandered. The reason is simple, -it's a major liberal voting block. But, on the other hand, conservatives have not been always eager to embrace and support those responsible leaders of black cities and to help them succeed.