Protesters in Portland, Oregon have released a list of demands they claim must be met in order to voluntarily end their protests. They projected the list onto a wall late last night, much like a PowerPoint slide.

Not surprisingly, the list includes demands for cuts in local police funding and a removal of federal police. In a move that might surprise casual followers of the story, Ted Wheeler, the small city's liberal mayor, is told to resign.

Here it is again, paraphrased for the sake of clarity.

1. Defund Portland Police by at least 50%, reinvest in black community
2. Free all protesters from jail.
3. Get federal police out of Portland
4. Mayor Ted Wheeler's resignation

It is unclear if the demands are from Black Lives Matter, or Antifa, or some other political apparatus, though the communist revolution fist logo would imply BLM backing.

Last night, Mayor Wheeler found himself caught between the two wings of his party. Wheeler came to the protests in an attempt to show solidarity and offer leadership, only to be shouted down and harassed, ultimately relying on his security team to move him to safety. He watched passively as rioters set fire to the federal courthouse.

Of course, Wheeler cannot satisfy the demands to defund police, especially in the midst of a two-month riot. Nor can he remove the federal police, who were sent to stop a terrorist-designated organization (the Antifa bloc in Portland), to establish order, and prevent further federal crimes such as burning a US Courthouse.

Such is the reality for those on the left today: accede to Marxism in part or entirely. In neither case is political survival guaranteed.

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