If a Republican had said it? He or she would already be well on the way to cancellation.
But Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. is a Democrat – a senior member of the South Jersey Machine led by George Norcross III – so his truth bomb isn’t eliciting quite the same level of outcry.
“We just wanna send a clear message to the thugs and criminals and gun bearing freaks over in Philadelphia who live in a society of lawlessness. We don’t want you here. Stay out of Camden. Stay out of Camden County. Stay out of New Jersey,” Cappelli warned after five were shot in Philadelphia on July 4th.
The pushback is coming from a singlemember of Philly’s city council. Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson says she’s absolutely “appalled” by Cappelli and his remarks from across the River.
“A majority of the 1.59 million Philly residents are self-respecting, law-abiding citizens,” Richardson tweeted. “To insinuate that ALL Philadelphians are ‘thugs,’ ‘criminals,’ & ‘freaks’ is completely unacceptable.”
What this Democrat-on-Democrat violence may tell us (aside from the fact that Cappelli is ambitious): the polling is correct in identifying crime as a significant 2024 issue, and Democrats may have trouble navigating it.
