Charlie Kirk’s blistering takedown of dirty liberal cities lands because it names what ordinary Americans see with their own eyes: downtowns turned into open-air drug markets and public spaces that no longer feel safe for families. San Francisco’s own data shows massive fentanyl seizures and multi-agency operations trying to disrupt open-air dealing, but the scenes of tents, needles, and dealers keep returning block to block.
The human cost of this failure is heartbreaking and predictable: people who try to clean up neighborhoods or enforce the rules end up in danger. An Urban Alchemy worker, someone who put his life on the line to help rebuild a life and serve the public, was gunned down after asking a man to stop using drugs outside the Main Library — proof that “compassion” without consequences becomes chaos.
San Francisco even treats sanitation like a policy problem instead of a moral one — a university study and city programs show open defecation rose in neighborhoods with large unhoused populations, and officials have to run “Pit Stop” toilet programs and special cleanup teams to try to undo predictable filth. When taxpayers are funding public toilets and “poop patrols” instead of public safety and accountability, something has gone terribly wrong with priorities.
Empty storefronts and boarded-up retail in downtown cores are another sign liberal policies chased away commerce and tourists. Union Square and parts of Powell Street have been pockmarked with vacancies for years, forcing city-sponsored pop-up programs to paper over the economic rot while real entrepreneurs and legacy retailers hesitate to return. San Franciscans who pay the bills deserve policies that attract businesses rather than punish them with endless red tape and taxes.
Seattle and Portland offer the same cautionary tale: well-intentioned tolerance of encampments and permissive enforcement have meant more scattered camps, more calls from afraid residents, and the slow erosion of neighborhood life. Local reporting shows residents filing record numbers of encampment complaints and city officials scrambling to move people around rather than fix the root causes or hold repeat offenders accountable. Voters are right to demand leaders who prioritize safe streets over woke symbolism.
Even cities that look vibrant on postcards suffer when public-safety and work incentives collapse — Chicago’s downtown office and retail vacancy has surged while violent weekends still shock families and neighborhoods demand real solutions. The slow death of downtown traffic and rising vacancies are an economic emergency, and mayoral feints and feel-good programs won’t bring back the jobs and foot traffic until public order is restored.
Contrast that with what happens when leaders stop the excuses and restore law and order: New York’s recent reports show significant drops in major crimes, even on the subway, after focused enforcement and sensible deployment of officers. If Washington and state capitals let local law enforcement do their jobs and stop making policy that protects criminals instead of victims, cities can — and will — recover.
The choice is stark and simple for patriotic Americans: keep electing leaders who celebrate ideology over everyday safety, or demand accountability, common-sense enforcement, and support for small businesses and working families. Charlie Kirk is right to call out the failures; now it’s time for voters in these cities to turn outrage into ballots and demand mayors who put citizens first, not activists.
