New York City calls itself a Sanctuary City. And I was surprised to learn that it's been that way since the 1980s when Democrat Ed Koch declared it as such to support people fleeing political oppression and looking for political asylum. The government tells us this week that there are now over 58,000 criminals who also happen to be illegal aliens in New York City.

I doubt Ed ever thought things would turn into the mess that it now is.

Eric Adams, on the other hand, saw the mess and campaigned on it. Not on fixing it, but importing more of it. We love the mess! Send us more mess! Mess is good!

Now that there are 58,000 criminal illegal alien contributors to the mess, not to mention a quarter of a million illegal aliens who are not committing crimes (as far as anyone knows) but are draining off resources, Eric has suddenly flipped.

We need government help! Please, government, even though we gave you the double-barrelled bird with our sanctuary policies, we now beg for your money so that we can clean up our mess. 

"Ms. Jones! Book me a flight to Mar-a-Lago so I can pay homage to the new King and lick his wingtips to get money to clean up some of my mess, make my voter approval rating go up, and get reelected! Ms. Jonesssssss......!"

Ugh. Barf. 

In reading about Eric Adams' 180 FlipFlop, I surely missed the part where he said to New Yorkers, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I aided and abetted this mess. I'm sorry I campaigned on expanding it. I'm sorry I imported more mess to add to the mess we already had. I'm sorry I made you pay for gift cards and hotel rooms and meals to sustain this mess. I'm sorry I encouraged 58,000 messes to live here who want to intimidate you, hurt you, and grab your stuff. I'm sorry.  I Was Wrong."

Nope. Didn't see or read that anywhere. 

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Why is it so hard for progressives to admit they're wrong or at least apologize for it? It won't kill them. The American voter is not blind and is usually pretty forgiving if you say, "I screwed up" (as long as you follow up with: and now I'm going to fix things.) But they never learn. They always run from the problem by blaming someone else. Usually Trump. 

I say they should lean into it and say, "I was wrong, and now it's my responsibility to fix it." That's political gold right there. And if they actually do fix the mess, they'll have voters for life. But they never do. Look at Brandon Johnson in Chicago. He's a mess, too. And among the most angry with his policies are the black voters that put him in office. They're screaming at the top of their lungs about illegals getting better treatment than economically disadvantaged citizens. Well, yeah, you get what you vote for. Eat it, folks. Maybe when the next election comes around, you'll think a little harder who you pencil in that oval for.

Oddly enough, I got a personal insight into the mindset of the citizens who voted in Eric Adams and his messy sanctuary city policies. My stepson has a father who is a pretty smart guy. At least as far as his profession is concerned, but not so much the political lightbulb he thinks he is. As a cancer research scientist in Manhattan, a one percenter, and a hard-core progressive, he told his son (who lives with us in Missouri) that "illegal immigrants" are good for the economy because they staff our hotel housekeeping crews and harvest our produce.

I didn't miss a beat. "Well, somebody has to pick our cotton." Damn, that felt good.

But if they're "good for the economy," why does the government consider them a net drain?

Because if you're a business that relies on low-skilled labor, it's good for you. If you're a consumer, the low prices are good for you. And if you're a virtue-signaling progressive, illegal aliens are good for you, too, because you can go home at night and hug yourself in the corner while sipping hot cocoa. But generally, for the country, they're bad. Especially when you cannot escape the unavoidable fact that when you suck in millions of illegals, you are going to get a lot of bad people along with them. It's akin to drinking tainted water from a well. Your immediate thirst will be quenched, but later, your body will regret it.

Well, 58,000 illegal alien criminals, all in one city. A self-inflicted wound. A real mess. A mess helpfully expanded by Eric Adams. If Trump does do something to help him, it should come with conditions. How about we start with an apology to New Yorkers and, second, a renunciation of sanctuary city status? I have a feeling the majority of New Yorkers would have sense enough to agree. At least, I would hope so.