PDX Carpetbaggers

Portland has always been a city of contrasts. It has the most hipsters per capita of any city in America, and it also has the most strip clubs per capita. It’s an old, tough, hard drinking, port town. It’s also world headquarters for microbrews and a city where it’s always wine o’clock. It’s known for rain. And now it’s known for reign. Stumptown, in short, has become Trumptown. The latest Portland contrast: Peaceful protestors and camouflaged federal agents in unmarked vans who are forcing them off the streets, turning RIP City into GRIP city. “I am basically tossed into the van. And I had my beanie pulled over my face so I couldn’t see and they held my hands over my head.” Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets.

+ Oregon Governor Kate Brown: “This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The president is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government.”

+ NYT: “This week, Portland’s law enforcement leaders have a new worry on the streets: their federal counterparts. Purportedly in town to help tamp down the unrest, the federal officers in camouflage and tactical gear have so far instead served to escalate tensions, rejuvenating a protest crowd that has been demanding a substantial overhaul to policing and an end to militarized tactics.” Trump’s 2020 campaign slogan should be: Making Matters Worse.

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