All the Glory, None of the Accountability

When you think of it, Amy Klobuchar's got a sweet gig in Minneapolis. Where else could a politician take credit for being a tough prosecutor who shows no favors to corrupt Democratic judges but who doesn't take credit for a crime rate that's spiraling out of control? Here's some statistics that jumped off the page for me about Murderapolis's (and Ms. Klobuchar's) crime rate:
Minneapolis' violent crime rate continues to outpace that of 2005, but authorities said Monday that a recent crackdown on juvenile crime is slowing the increase. The violent crime rate from January to Sept. 11, 2006, was 25.8 percent higher than the same period last year, according to Minneapolis police. That includes murder, robbery, aggravated assaults and rape. The increase from 2005 was as high as 60 percent in January and stayed above 30 percent for most of the year.
Ms. Klobuchar hasn't taken responsibility for a crime rate that increased dramatically over the past couple years. Ms. Klobuchar hasn't prosecuted any cases in eight years as Hennepin county's attorney. According to my good friends at KvM, "Amy was a leading advocate at the Minnesota Legislature for the passage of a felony DWI law, which now enables prosecutors throughout the state toc harge chronic drunk drivers with felonies." To date, Ms. Klobuchar has failed to use it in at least three instances.

Knowing all that, it's difficult coming up with what Ms. Klobuchar has done that's earned her a 'promotion' to the U.S. Senate. Frankly, it's difficult to figure out why she's qualified to keep her current position.

Here's the most startling set of facts:
  • On Monday, the FBI also released final crime numbers for 2005, which showed Minneapolis' violent crime rate for that year increased 13.5 percent over 2004.
  • Nationwide, violent crime increased 2.3 percent from 2004 to 2005, with rape down by 1.2 percent.
  • In St. Paul, where rallies have recently sprung up calling for city officials to fund as many as 200 additional police officers, violent crimes rose by a modest 1.5 percent from 2004 to 2005 , the FBI numbers showed.
How is it that nearly identical cities (St. Paul and Murderapolis) that border each other have such dramatically different track records? If promotions and demotions are performance-based, then why shouldn't Ms. Klobuchar be fired?

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Posted Tuesday, September 19, 2006 8:18 PM

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