Republicans Bash 'Democrat-Run Cities' But do Nothing to Help. They're Part of the Problem | Opinion

"Democrat-run cities" is a phrase you hear a lot in Republican circles, especially as a political explanation for the struggles in urban cities. You hear it from Republican politicians and conservative pundits, and it's a fixture across the general conservative ecosystem. The phrase gives Republicans an excuse to rag on their political rivals, as well as an easy way to evade responsibility for the ills plaguing inner cities, as if to say, Not our turf, not our responsibility!

Here's the thing: It is their responsibility. Or at least, the fault with the breakdown of our urban centers is at least somewhat shared.

Of course, Republicans are right that these cities are led by Democrats, and some element of political stagnation will always develop as a result of a lack of political competition. But that's exactly the point: These cities remain Democrat-led because their voters don't have a choice. After all, they can't choose an option that doesn't exist.

Were there any Republicans in Chicago's recent mayoral race? No. Los Angeles? No. Cleveland? No. In city after city, the story is the same. Most cities have "nonpartisan" primaries for political office. In those primaries, multiple candidates run, and the two candidates with the most votes advance, regardless of party. And it's always two Democrats.

When it comes to our cities, Republicans run so infrequently that they never build familiarity with voters. As a result, they struggle in primaries.

But even when that disadvantage is not in play, they still don't show up. Take Akron, Ohio, for example. The city has an unpopular mayor that is leaving office. Akron is one of the few big cities that still have partisan primaries. That means that Republicans were guaranteed to have their candidate make it to the general election.

But Republicans didn't even run a candidate. As a result, the city's next mayor was decided by Democratic primary voters, who aren't even necessarily representative of the Democratic Party as a whole, let alone the general voting public.

Even in a city where the Republican candidate is guaranteed to at least make it to the general election, the party still did not run a candidate.

Just let that sink in.

Of course, it's not new. Republicans intentionally abandoned urban voters years ago. And they still don't attempt to compete in many of our nation's large cities. Yet they have the audacity to bash those voters for not voting for a nonexistent option!

To make matters worse, hyper-partisans discourage the few urban Republicans left from voting in local elections. In many of those races, their engagement could be the only difference between the election of a sane Democrat or a crazy Democrat.

A Republican establishment that refuses to compete in urban cities while simultaneously discouraging their voters from supporting even moderate Democrats is virtually guaranteeing the continued takeover of these cities by the far Left. Moderate Democrats are often attacked by hardliners in both parties, and as a result, it makes it harder for them to successfully defeat the leftist "new establishment" of the Democratic Party.

The GOP tells their voters that they are against the ideology of "wokeism" while aiding and abetting the political rise of its staunchest practitioners.

If it wasn't for the sheer incompetence of the Republican establishment, one might wonder if they're doing this on purpose. After all, if Leftists continue to take over American cities, it gives the GOP a convenient foil and boogeyman to run against in the races that they actually care about.

In many big cities, voter turnout for local elections is abysmal. In Chicago, progressive Brandon Johnson was elected with only 35 percent of the city's voters. In Cleveland, progressive Justin Bibb was elected with the lowest voter turnout for a mayoral election in the last 50 years.

In these races, every vote matters. Pushing a hyper-partisan mantra of "vote Republican all the time" while refusing to give urban voters a Republican to vote for is essentially asking them to stay home on the races that impact their lives the most.

If you are truly oppose to the rising tide of lunacy that is infecting many of our major cities, then you should stand with anyone who is willing to fight against it—even if they are a Democrat.

The Republican establishment is gaslighting their own voters when they promote the message of "chaos in Democrat run cities" while doing nothing to compete in those cities. They are perpetuating the very cycle that they are complaining about.

The GOP needs to pick a direction and stick with it. Either make a real, consistent and continuous effort to court big city voters, allow your voters to help normal Democrats against crazy ones, or stop complaining about those cities.

If you are not willing to be part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Darvio Morrow is CEO of the FCB Radio Network and co-host of The Outlaws Radio Show.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.