Ken Berwitz
Today\’s quote comes to us from CNN\’s “Law Enforcement Analyst”, Harry Houck.
Mr. Houck, it seems, is less than taken with Rahm Emanuel\’s sacrifice of Police Chief Garry McCarthy, in an apparently unsuccessful effort to placate the street protesters demanding that Emanuel resign.
Here is what Mr. Houck had to say:
“Look, I\’m not a fan of Garry McCarthy at all, but the factthat he is being fired because of Rahm Emanuel\’s policies — and believe me,every time that I see him on with the mayor, he\’s acquiescent to what the mayorwants. You know, these mayors get elected, and all of a sudden, they think theyknow how to police the inner city. They don\’t, all right?
“We had a nine-year-old that was killed by thugs, he wasassassinated, all right? When is enough enough for the people of Chicago? I amsick and tired of seeing small children, Black children being killed,assassinated on the street. They can\’t go outside and play, all right, and yougot a mayor sitting here, all right, saying that it\’s the police commissioner\’sfault when it\’s the mayor\’s fault. This mayor should be impeached. He shouldresign. The National Guard should go into Chicago, take that city back from thethugs, all right, let people be able to come out and play on the street again.”
Mr. Houck was doing fine – at least he was being tolerated – by the CNN co-panelists until that point. Then he made the grievous error of saying this:
“Maybe, you know, I\’m justtired of the police getting the brunt of everything that\’s going on inside theinner city of Chicago. You people in, who live – (CNN host Brooke Baldwininterrupting) “No, no, it\’s not”you people” – (co-panelist, Black activist Stephen Greeninterrupting) “You people? Youpeople?” (Baldwin again interrupting) “HarryHouck, come on.” (Houck continuing) -in Chicago, all right, the people who live in Chicago should start voting formaybe another person, maybe a Republican, see how he, a Republican can come inthere and straighten that city up.”
Yeah, I know that Harry Houck says “all right” a lot. And I\’m not sure that Rahm Emanuel should be impeached or forced to resign (please note that I\’m not sure he shouldn\’t be either).
But I do know that now-former Police Chief Garry McCarthy was a loyal soldier to Mayor Emanuel, who parroted the party line – and was tossed right under the bus for his trouble. I am also about 99.9999% sure Baldwin and Green objected to the “you people” comment because they thought it was racial in nature – and as it turned out, the comment was not racial at all.
I award Harry Houck Quote Of The Day honors because he spoke up for the citizens of Chicago who are trapped in neighborhoods with impossibly high crime rates, which no Mayor in my recent memory has had the cajones do actually try to clean up. Good for you, Mr. Houck.
Oh, one other thing: regarding a Republican Mayor of Chicago? Nice pipe dream, Harry. The last Republican Mayor of Chicago, William Hale Thompson, left office in 1931 – and, no, that is not a typo.
Incidentally, by most accounts Thompson was thoroughly amoral and corrupt. Which certainly put him in good stead with the political atmosphere of the city…..both then and now.
