Opinion Don’t blame ‘both sides.’ The right is driving political violence.

[ihhawk]

No, the left recognizes them and speaks out against them, and there is absolutely no comparison between the number of violent acts between those on the left and on the right.

You sure about that? Imagine if the guy was arrested trying to assassinate RBG. You think it would be brushed off so easily.

Lee about got stabbed onstage and based on the response here, it was no big deal.

The GOP gunman takes the cake though.

 

[gohawks50]

Yes.

Do you have an example of democratic leaders trying to downplay attempts on the lives of Republicans? Can you share some?

 

[NCHawk5]

I ask questions, you don’t answer. And it’s pretty clear that you have some pretty sensitive, defensive reactions cooked into your responses. And that’s okay. You probably think I’m trying to gotcha you or something. I’m not, though.

Look, you positioned yourself as scorekeeper. So I’m asking for scorekeeping. The actual questions have been clearly posed directly to you.

You can answer them, or you can keep trying to convince everyone that you aren’t being nor haven’t been defensive.

Whichever means more to you.

Always so emotional

 

[ihhawk]

Always so emotional

He will get the ban hammer soon. It Happens frequently.

 

[NCHawk5]

He will get the ban hammer soon. It Happens frequently.

No comment

 

[herkyhawk00]

The sickness on the right was on display after news broke about the attack on Paul Pelosi. While leading Republicans condemned the horrific assault, the MAGA base seethed with sick jokes making light of the violence and insane conspiracy theories. (Filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza suggested that the attack was “a romantic tryst that went awry.”)
Karen Tumulty: Glenn Youngkin's riff about the attack on Paul Pelosi is not just tasteless but dangerous
There was, alas, no sign of the GOP taking responsibility for fomenting hatred. Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for governor of Arizona, blamed “leftist elected officials who have not enforced the laws.” Naturally, Republicans accuse Democrats of being “divisive” for citing Republican rhetoric as a contributing factor to political violence.



It’s true that, by calling out GOP extremism, Democrats do risk exacerbating the polarization of politics. But they can’t simply ignore this dangerous trend. And it’s not Democrats who are pushing our country to the brink: A New York Times study found that MAGA members of Congress who refused to accept the results of the 2020 election used polarizing language at nearly triple the rate of Democrats.
So please don’t accept the GOP framing of the assault on Paul Pelosi as evidence of a problem plaguing “both sides of the aisle.” Political violence in America is being driven primarily by the far right, not the far left, and the far right is much closer to the mainstream of the Republican Party than the far left is to the Democratic Party.

Are you living in a bubble? First off, this guy was apparently homeless. He was so whacked out his ex said he thought he was Jesus Christ. If this was a Republican who was attacked the narrative would be that the guy was mentally ill. It’s unbelievable.

Did you miss all of the rhetoric by the left and Democrats alike calling for people to stir up violence and protests?

How many Democrats called for peace when there were violent protests on the day Trump was inaugurated? You had Democratic politicians that were encouraging people to confront Republicans on the streets.

I am all for people being civil and I feel politicians have become some of the least civil people in our country. Let’s at least try to open our eyes and see reality, though. Paul Pelosi was attacked by a mentally deranged individual.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

By Max Boot

Columnist |
October 30, 2022 at 5:33 p.m. EDT


It should not be controversial to say that America has a major problem with right-wing political violence. The evidence continues to accumulate — yet the GOP continues to deny responsibility for this horrifying trend.

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On Friday, a man enflamed by right-wing conspiracy theories (including QAnon) entered the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and attacked her 82-year-old husband with a hammer, fracturing Paul Pelosi’s skull. “Where is Nancy?” he reportedly shouted, echoing the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, at President Donald Trump’s instigation. This comes after years of Republican demonization of the House speaker, a figure of hatred for the right rivaled only by Hillary Clinton.

The same day as the Pelosi attack, a man pleaded guilty to making death threats against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). Two days earlier, three men who were motivated by right-wing, anti-lockdown hysteria after covid-19 hit were convicted of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). In August, another man died after attacking an FBI office because he was so upset about the bureau’s search of Mar-a-Lago. “We must respond with force,” he wrote on Trump’s Truth Social website.






Then there are all the terrible hate crimes, in cities including Pittsburgh, El Paso and Buffalo, where gunmen were motivated by the kind of racist rhetoric — especially the “great replacement theory” — now openly espoused on Fox “News.”


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This is where any fair-minded journalist has to offer an obligatory “to be sure” paragraph: To be sure, political violence is not confined to the right. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot in 2017 by a gunman with leftist beliefs, and in June, a man was arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh after becoming incensed about court rulings on abortion and guns.
Republican leaders cite those attacks to exonerate themselves of any responsibility for political violence. “Violence is up across the board,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Sunday, arguing that it’s “unfair” to blame anti-Pelosi rhetoric for the assault on Pelosi’s husband.



Violence is unacceptable whether from the left or right, period. But we can’t allow GOP leaders to get away with this false moral equivalency. They are evading their responsibility for their extremist rhetoric that all too often motivates extremist actions.
The New America think tank found last year that, since Sept. 11, 2001, far-right terrorists had killed 122 people in the United States, compared with only one killed by far-leftists. A study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies last year found that, since 2015, right-wing extremists had been involved in 267 plots or attacks, compared with 66 for left-wing extremists. A Washington Post-University of Maryland survey released in January found that 40 percent of Republicans said violence against the government can be justified, compared with only 23 percent of Democrats.
There is little doubt about what is driving political violence: the ascendance of Trump. The former president and his followers use violent rhetoric of extremes: Trump calls President Biden an “enemy of the state,” attacks the FBI as “monsters,” refers to the “now Communist USA” and even wrote that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has a “DEATH WISH” for disagreeing with him. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has expressed support for executing Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) has tweeted that “the America Last Marxists … are radically and systematically DESTROYING our country.”



That type of extremist rhetoric used to be confined to fringe organizations such as the John Birch Society. Now it’s the GOP mainstream, with predictable consequences. The U.S. Capitol Police report that threats against members of Congress have risen more than tenfold since Trump’s election in 2016, up to 9,625 last year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/30/paul-pelosi-attack-republican-bothsidesism-false-equivalence/

You forgot to mention that he was an illegal immigrant. Since you’re being so technical and all.

 

[Rudolph]

Wait, so do we just ignore the times the left shoots folks or try to kill them?

Stats didn’t cover that? Op ed didn’t cover that? Did you read it?

 

[Rudolph]

@Rudolph you must have missed the question.

What question? Scorekeeper? If you’re reading my posts — at all — you wouldn’t need to ask that question. It’s been explained, more than once.

 

[ihhawk]

Stats didn’t cover that? Op ed didn’t cover that? Did you read it?

I’m not reading garbage produced by Max and Jen

 

[Rudolph]

Always so emotional

Link to where you think my posting is so emotional. Given you say it’s “always”, this should be one you can handle.

Also, for someone who claims to not follow or keep track of my posting in HROT, to claim I am “always so emotional” is either a rush to judgment, a judgment based on little actual consideration, or in direct conflict with your claim that you don’t follow my posting.

I wish you would keep things at least a little honest.

 

[Rudolph]

I’m not reading garbage produced by Max and Jen

Ah. Okay. Well, the op ed covered the very thing you suggested wasn’t covered.

 

[SA_Hawk]

The left has shot actual members of Congress and attempted to assassinate a Supreme Court justice.

 

[Rudolph]

O for the love.



Not interesting in playing dumb games Rudy, I linked the first time some asshat had put something dumb into the media, if you really want to go find the tit for tat, I'll show you how to use Google. Man the **** up, have a laugh, and move on. Don't be what you are accusing someone else of.

Whiskey, I plainly asked, in plain language, for an equivalent to the DJT Jr tweet. I framed the ask with the specifics I listed in the interests of being fair, and exploring actual equivalence. That’s what the op ed is delving into, I believe that’s what you’re arguing — that there is equivalence — so I’m interested in seeing equivalence. It really is that simple.

I’m not playing games or avoiding humor. There’s good humor in my staying super rooted in the exact same spot throughout this thread while you dance and dip and duck and dodge. I’m not aiming for that humor, but it’s there and I’m enjoying it nonetheless.

Once again, it is, at least implicitly, your contention that there is moral equivalence, and with your very first post you introduced yourself (implicitly) as scorekeeper of this supposed equivalence. Further, you did the very thing, as your argument, that you expressed distaste for what you believe the op ed to be doing.

I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s all plainly in this thread. I haven’t moved an inch, have been entirely consistent and fair.

So, given this is a thread about equivalence… once again… is there or are there examples of big-media-voices, DJT Jr qualifies as that in my opinion (whether any of us likes it or not) especially given a major news media network regularly amplifies his voice, who openly mock politically-motivated violence and/or mock the victims of politically-motivated violence?

I will be unsurprised if there are, mildly surprised if there are not, for what it’s worth. But I haven’t seen it, and I’m pretty sure if it was out there, HROT would dish it up for us.

 

[Rudolph]

The left has shot actual members of Congress and attempted to assassinate a Supreme Court justice.

Op ed covered that in its analysis. The question is one of equivalence.

 

[Flie]

Protesters in Portland target a city commissioner's home, set fire to city hall

Police are still looking for the suspect who lit city hall on fire.

www.google.com

Yeah..........

What marks them as "the left"?

 

[Flie]

The left has shot actual members of Congress and attempted to assassinate a Supreme Court justice.

Wow... what members of the left did this?

 

[HawkeyeShawn]

Do you have an example of democratic leaders trying to downplay attempts on the lives of Republicans? Can you share some?

Why? That’s not what the post I replied to said, nor did I say that.

 

[gohawks50]

Why? That’s not what the post I replied to said, nor did I say that.

Your yes reply was to this post:

Wait, so do we just ignore the times the left shoots folks or try to kill them?

I thought you would be able to share some examples of that happening.

 

[Chishawk1425]