I don’t know what de Blasio was hoping to accomplish with his presence, but this probably wasn’t it: “Hundreds of police officers turned their backs on a screen showing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke at the funeral of one of two officers killed last week in what has been called an “assassination.”” On the other hand, I don’t really know what de Blasio could have done that would have been the smart move, here*: his options are kind of limited at this moment.  On the gripping hand, they’re limited by his own deeds, so expect my sympathy to be limited.

As to what de Blasio will do next… it’s a good question.  The Mayor is almost certainly going to continue to resist any and all calls to resign, not least because his own staff would be infuriated.  It’s unkind to suggest that every person working for de Blasio these days is equivalent to Rachael Noerdlinger, but the truth of the matter is that the Mayor owes a lot to the Working Families Party for his support.  And the WFP is remarkably forthright in its opposition to the cops (sorry for those two links to hate sites).  I suppose that de Blasio’s best hope right now is that the controversy dies down; if there are no further incidents, maybe things will get less tense.

…Maybe.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

(Image via Shutterstock)

PS: I should also note that there is a lively and important debate going on right now over exactly how much power and/or leeway should be given police officers  when it comes to doing their job.  This is a reasonable debate to have.  But it should also be noted that groups like the WFP are extremely nasty, and make for highly unreliable allies. You rely on them at your peril; because their goals are not your goals, and they probably don’t like people like you very much.

*Aside from not being late for the wake, of course.  Barack Obama seems to have ‘inspired’ an entire generation of Democratic politicians who seem to think that it’s OK to be late for things.  Which it is not, by the way.