The facts of Ferguson are now coming out. How should America respond? And how should we respond to the insurrections promoted in its aftermath? Steve Carlson, 2014 IP Nominee for U.S. Senate-MN, shows the way forward, to the mountaintop

I made this video in 2014 based on the facts coming out. It was a confrontation, a “tussle” involving weapons. You can’t do that with a cop. And when problems arise (and I exclude George Floyd from this) is when this urge, for whatever reason, to begin to physically resist a policeman (or policewoman) arises in a particular stop. This is common. People are angry, feel they are misunderstood, unfairly treated, and see in this event confirmation of their pre-existing feelings. If you feel you are being treated unfairly because of your race that’s when people’s restraint is put aside, and they feel they are right because the “other side” is wrong.


But we are trained and required to obey lawful commands, and honestly that’s often hard to distinguish. But the Miranda rules are the only thing you are allowed to follow, and you may provide information to the officer, but they’re going to have to decide.


But I said in 2014 the Obama administration, followed by these two then-Senators from Minnesota, all encouraged people to confront the cops, because they’re “racist”, unfair, etc. And this is a burden I don’t generally need to bear, I don’t view myself as outside of this society.
The result is that I called in 2014 that Obama and Holder were given the green light for race-based insurrection and for violent uprisings to come.

I noted the Tea Party in protesting ObamaCare didn’t even come close to this.

Further, Amy Klobuchar, whose party simply shut down all debates at the Minnesota State Fair still appeared to say that “nobody knows what happened” in Ferguson. Well, I knew. It’s my job to know. If I’m running for office I need to constructively engage these issues. And sure enough, in 2016 I returned from a job in Cincinnati and had already written “All Lives Matter.” I returned to learn that evening before while I was waiting for my bus back, Philando Castille had been shot in St. Paul. I needed to find out what happened. I was running for the House in CD4.


In 2020 after I had filed for the U.S. Senate against Tina Smith, I learned to my horror that George Floyd had died in Minneapolis.


In this video I got it right. It starts with opportunistic politicians like Tina Smith pretending she can promise black Americans all these great things. Improved conditions, new opportunities, a bright future. When those promises don’t materialize, ambitious politicians like Obama, like Holder, Omar, Smith, Franken, Klobuchar are only too willing to sacrifice American police officers of all races. They are the scapegoat for failed Democratic promises.


This not only undercuts the police functions, law enforce, but it undercuts us! Assaulting a police officer is like assaulting a Metro Transit driver while moving in traffic. Our safety and security are at risk. So we have to solve this.


Black politicians and politicians in general can’t solve these broken promises. It takes all of us--all sides in good faith. These leaders have not only let black community and black youth down, they let all of us down.


They are failing to lead on the issue of equal rights. This requires many equal private rights. We need to agree to work across racial lines, and other differences, to create opportunity. The government can’t force it. Many religions want to see past creeds and politics to Realize equality of rights.


But these equal rights do not include attacking businesses, police, and innocent drivers. Even if we feel an action or judgment is wrong. Equal rights means that you and I have an equal responsibility to conduct ourselves honorably within law. And actually to avail ourselves of opportunities and liberty available to us. Perhaps much education is required, to secure the rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to exercise that liberty and opportunity.


Many black Americans and Americans of other races may feel they missed that. That the Declaration and Constitution never applied to them. But it did. And it does now. But it is an instrument of change, and we’re going to have to experience a lot of change. Good trouble--change.


Michael Brown did not take that opportunity, or responsibility to live within law. Maybe he felt if a cop stopped him it was okay to tussle. Maybe he even felt that they should notice that he was a success, he was as good as them because he was starting air conditioning school. And they shouldn’t treat him as he felt they always did. Maybe because there was a robbery reported, they talked to him wrong.


In any event he saw police standing in his way. He could have made a different choice and have kept these doors of opportunity open. This was not raw police power - needed authority to maintain public safety and security. In his future air conditioning work these guys were going to keep his worksite safe, make him be successful and enjoy a higher standard of living.


Opportunities can remain open to use for general and expanded welfare, including Michael Brown in the normal course of affairs. But we need to keep these opportunities meaningful.
This is the most difficult task we have today. To work across party aisles in Washington and in Minnesota and with the Administration to keep freedom and liberty alive.


All the citizens need to look together at these outrageous events in Ferguson, in Minneapolis, in Portland, so many cities now, spurred on by political opportunists and rightly condemn them press on to mountaintop.


Because in today’s world we need that mountaintop If America is to persist and be that shiny city on a hill.