Portland protesters cross a big, red line

Last night a group of Portland "protesters" vandalized the home of City Commissioner Dan Ryan, because he joined two other council members yesterday in voting not to defund the city's police by $18 million at this time.

They broke a window, threw paint on the house, and broke potted plants.

Because they didn't agree with how he voted on something.

With these folks, everyone who disagrees with them is a "fascist." But honestly, think about it. Who are the fascists again?

Somebody also set the doors of City Hall on fire last night, but as bad as that is, it's nothing compared to what they did to Ryan. He seems like a decent guy, who even listened to them. But he didn't do as he was told, and so they damaged his house.

We have a "Unified Command" in town at the moment to stop election-related violence. This incident was not election-related, but it crossed an extremely important line. I've thought all along that the dire portrait being painted of Portland in the national media was distorted, but our situation is now drifting into a real danger zone.

It's time for the normal people to start saying something. And it's time for the "Unified Command" to figure out a way to redraw the line.

There are so many riot cops in town now, maybe they should just all go to the protest assembly site du jour and each "buddy up" with a protester. Just hang out with them, one on one, for the whole night. Letting them terrorize a politician and his neighbors and then chasing them away doesn't seem like an effective plan.