Political Violence on the Left & Right

The Washington Post's online header sounded grim.

Foes of health-care overhaul use violence

So far, thankful, the "use" of violence has been limited to a brick thrown through U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) glass office door. The WaPo also reports that ten House Democrats have received threats, though Majority Leader Steny Hoyer seems to be the only source for the number and he acknowledges that the number isn't exact. I bet that means it isn't higher. But any such threats or acts are too many.

Political violence or even the threat of such violence is inexcusable in the United States. This is a constitutional republic. The Democrats won on healthcare because they received enough votes in the last election to allow them to do that. Fair is fair. Perhaps the next election will be less kind to them.

The WaPo certainly takes all this seriously.

In Washington on Wednesday, the attacks were roundly condemned, with some congressional leaders wondering whether the long fight over health care had unleashed an ugly dimension to the modern political discourse.

Okay, but let's acknowledge that this ugly dimension isn't new and it isn't limited to the right. When Karl Rove spoke at my alma mater, the Claremont Colleges, a bomb threat was phoned in. Just yesterday a scheduled speech by conservative provocateur Ann Coulter at the University of Ottawa was cancelled when someone triggered a fire alarm. Security officials were concerned about the possibility of violence. ROTC centers on at least seven college campuses in several states have been vandalized in recent years.  Death threats against President Obama have certainly made, but death threats against President Bush were frequent enough during his time in office. 

My point is not that the Left is worse that the Right in this regard. That is a matter for another post. It is that both sides have their less-civilized wing-nuts. In American politics, casting yourself as the victim is like getting one of those powerful cards in Dungeons and Dragons. It is very tempting to argue that the other side must be wrong because they are doing these bad things. It is a temptation that ought to be resisted.

The American Left has always imagined itself to be the true voice of the people. Of course, when it thinks of "the people", it generally imagines the people of Berkley. The rise of the Tea Party movement is thus existentially unnerving to the Left, so it responds as people tend to do when confronted with unpleasant realities. It tries to convince everyone that the Tea Party people aren't real. They are created by Fox News. They are racists and violent! In fact, a few crazies on the right do not discredit the Tea Party people, let alone the Republican Party or conservatives in general, any more than Earth First eco-terrorism discredits the environmental movement.

House Minority Leader Boehner has denounced the threats and vandalism. That was the responsible thing to do. It was also the politically responsible thing to do. Such acts can only hurt his cause. It is in the interest of both sides to denounce politically inspired misbehavior whenever or for whatever it is committed.

Comments

[PulSamsara]

The Republican Party is a dead party - out of gas and out of ideas.

The GOP will split into two parties within 2 to 3 election cycles.

The strain being placed upon the American culture and political system will soon spell an intractable fracture.

After a short lived three party system we will then have four as the Dems will too split... and then much more minor parties.

By 2050 we will enjoy a true multi-party democracy.

If I'm so fortunate - I'll be a very old man - and imploring my children and grandchildren to register as I always have: No Party Affiliation.

[WJWalton]

Dungeons & Dragons doesn't use cards. You're thinking of Magic: The Gathering.

[George]

The event ws not cancelled when the fire alarm went off. The event was cancelled hen her body guard made the decison to cancel it.

[George]

Read the Ottawa Citizen. www.ottawacitizen.com

Fox News makes stuff up.

[George]

THe inaction by Republicans in the face of violence is what does them a disservice. They should be vehemently speaking against those threatening congesspeople.

[Lynn]

The Reps and the Tea Party movement do not condone violence. How many of the Dems spoke out when faced with the signs such as in this post? How many Dems spoke out when Palin was hung in effigy and now even taken down in CA? How many Dems spoke out when Bush was threatened? Where was the left when ROTC centers were targeted? I think you know the answer to this. If you read blogs, you can find all kinds of vulgarity, threats, etc on the liberal blogs 99% more than conservative blogs.

Another thought. The Tea Party is now a target of the left because we aren't going away. They will try anything to discredit us. How do we know that it's not the left doing the threats etc and blaming them on the Tea Party. (Of course, we know the left would never do that!?!)

The sleeping giant of the American people has awakened and is not going back to sleep. We pay attention to the news. We care. We do not appreciate the over-reach of this administration. And we are making a difference, and they fear that.

[Lynn]

oops, "hung in effigy and NOT even taken down..." above.

[Jim]

Too late. I can't even stomach being around a leftist. Things will only get worse when the Dems attempt to ram through Cap & Trade and immigration reform. There will be NO turning back...

[A.I.]

Of course it really is not about protesters on the Left or Right, it is about political leaders who use eliminationist language and exploit violence for political gain. This excerpt is from a Paul Krugman column:

"What has been really striking has been the eliminationist rhetoric of the G.O.P., coming not from some radical fringe but from the party’s leaders. John Boehner, the House minority leader, declared that the passage of health reform was “Armageddon.” The Republican National Committee put out a fund-raising appeal that included a picture of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, surrounded by flames, while the committee’s chairman declared that it was time to put Ms. Pelosi on “the firing line.” And Sarah Palin put out a map literally putting Democratic lawmakers in the cross hairs of a rifle sight.

All of this goes far beyond politics as usual. Democrats had a lot of harsh things to say about former President George W. Bush — but you’ll search in vain for anything comparably menacing, anything that even hinted at an appeal to violence, from members of Congress, let alone senior party officials."

[Marie Tucker]

why is it everytime the right does anything, it is violent but the left can cause any amout of violence and nothing is said or done?? When are we going to get rid of the liberal media??