Why, Mr. President? This Sheriff Reaches Different Conclusions About Ferguson

Kelsey Bolar /

In a gripping interview on Fox News’ “The Kelly File,” a Wisconsin sheriff last night blamed the looting and arson in Ferguson, Mo., on something other than the police force.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke cited anger and frustration growing out of a weak job market, failing schools and a welfare state that gets “individuals in American ghettos hooked on the high of handouts.”

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So if he had been invited to President Obama’s Monday meeting on Ferguson at the White House, Clarke told host Megyn Kelly:

I would have said, ‘Mr. President, you spent a trillion dollars on a stimulus package promising a robust economy that would produce jobs. Mr. President, where are the jobs?’ If people find meaningful work, it occupies their time, and you don’t have all these individuals just idling around, building up frustration and anger because their life isn’t going the way they thought it should. I would have said, ‘Mr. President, … why do we have to send our kids to failing school systems … that’s going to shackle them to a life of crime and violence, and they’ll never reach their God-given potential?’

Watch the video for the sheriff’s complete analysis, including his becoming “disgusted” with Attorney General Eric Holder.