In a boomerang effect, the GOP’s successful campaign to delegitimize and reduce government has strengthened the hand of mayors. Rahm Emmanuel has written a book that purports to show how mayors affect people’s lives directly, daily. They are important to people.
As the federal government recedes and concedes responsibilities to the states, counties, cities and towns, mayors more and more become the focal point of political control. And who inhabits cities? Liberals and Democrats. I won’t go into why that is here but all the studies show that cities liberalize their inhabitants. The GOP’s strength is in rural areas; they lose in cities, especially big cities. Over time, as mayors wield more effective power and become the face of government for more and more people, their ability to reshape the political landscape will grow.
One of the biggest mistakes in thinking is to see all situations as static; better yet, any situation as static. Emmanuel pointed to the example in Chicago where he has directed his police force not to cooperate with ICE. Why? Because associating the local police with ICE will destroy community policing and sources of vital information will dry up.
So there is no reason that cities cannot begin to change the landscape of their cities. Sanctuary cities are just one example. Some cities may decide to make it illegal to discriminate against ex-convicts in job applications or provide more counseling services to public school children. The Gunfight At the O.K. Corral was over gun control; a city ordinance of Tombstone required citizens to surrender weapons such as knives and guns and the Earps et al. were only trying to enforce that law. Cities can follow this tradition and make their own ordinances regarding firearms.
In this way, the GOP will isolate itself and slip away.