Like a blindly devoted wife finally figuring out that her abusive husband is never going to change his ways, some California Democrats are slowly waking up to the reality that life under a Democratic administration can be Groundhog Day when it comes to crime.
A Los Angeles business owner whose company was targeted by thieves on Thursday lashed out at the Democrats he voted for who have done nothing to stop the rising crime in the city, according to KTTV-TV in Los Angeles.
Ryan Baggaley told the station that a group of burglars used a stolen vehicle to smash through a security gate and enter Delta Construction & Electric Co. in the Glassell Park neighborhood around 4 a.m., destroying his gate and making off with thousands of dollars worth of musical instruments, audio equipment and construction tools.
Surveillance footage showed the thieves driving a blue Kia Soul hatchback through the locked gate and then rushing to load items into the car.
Baggaley said the police told him the vehicle was stolen from an LAPD impound yard which was recognizable by a distinguishing chalk mark on the window.
He told KTTV that after the alarm company woke him up at 5:03 a.m., he rushed to the site, getting there before the police and hoping to “at least take down a few of them.” However, the criminals were gone.
“I voted for [LA Mayor] Karen Bass. I voted for [President Joe] Biden. I voted for [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom,” Baggaley said, naming three Democrats. “I’m sick of it.”
Another brazen break-in caught on camera. Another L.A. business owner fed up:
“I voted for Karen Bass. I voted for Biden. I voted for Gavin Newsom. I’m sick of it. At some point you have to give me a reason to vote for you again.”@FOXLA pic.twitter.com/EKGtDE5rb6
— MarlaTellez (@MarlaTellez) December 7, 2023
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, in 2022, California had a 15.7 percent increase in the rate of commercial burglary, defined as stealing more than $950 of merchandise, over the pre-pandemic rate. Robbery rates of commercial establishments also rose 13.3 percent from 2019 to 2022.
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A major reason for this rise in crime is California’s Proposition 47, which, according to Fox News, “effectively gives shoplifters and addicts the green light to commit crimes as long as the merchandise they steal or the drugs they take are less than $950 in value.”
As multiple X users pointed out, residents of California are getting what they voted for.
Elections have consequences.
— Danny B ?? (@iamdima24) December 7, 2023
Better to admit the error and then change, than to double down and continue the pattern. I see way too many doing the latter, much prefer the former.
— mytw0cents (@mytw0centst00) December 7, 2023
OR … that business owner could consider voting @GOPLosAngeles @CAGOP.
You don’t have to be Republican to vote for one.
You just need to be sick of the crime and grime.
— Roxanne Hoge (@RoxanneHoge) December 7, 2023
But it sounds like Baggaley might be having buyer’s remorse.
“At some point, you have to give me a reason to vote for you [Democrats] again,” he said.
This story is another example of the opportunity presented to the GOP by Californians like Baggaley, who told KTTV that he was “fed up.”
“We’re just doing our job, make a living, help our employees make a good living and move on, but it’s really freaking difficult to survive,” he said.
A small business owner like Baggaley should not have to get a 5 a.m. call to take his rose-colored glasses off. The Republican Party should be doing it for him.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.