“A peaceful coexistence is dropping out of sight” – Robert Ellsworth
First off, to make the obvious point, no I don’t want to see violence from either side. But what I’ve seen over the last few days has surprised even me. And this was after writing a post just a few weeks ago about how Democrats are horrible people who hate America. But what we’ve seen over just the last few days from the Radicals who’ve taken over the Democratic Party is disappointing, and equally disturbing. To quickly recap:
Florida AG Pam Bondi Harassed By Left-Wing Activists At Movie Theater
As if Sarah Huckabee Sanders getting thrown out of a restaurant for being competent at her job, It gets WORSE: Red Hen owner reportedly kicked Sarah Sanders out then FOLLOWED her to new restaurant to protest
A New York University Professor doxxed over 1,500 ICE employees
Maxine Waters calls on her Clone Army to “EXECUTE GENERAL ORDER SIXTY-SIX!”
Even worse, after Mad Maxine’s punctuation to the several days of terror would draw a response from Democrat leaders in office and in the press, you’d be right. But not in a good way. What followed ran from “Sorry that President Trump made us mad!” from Nanci Pelosi, to the Washington Post’s “Trump could seize this to fire up his base!” Nowhere in here are any condemnations – Hell, I’d be happy with just some acknowledgement that harassment and inciting violence is wrong. You won’t get it from the Democratic Party’s leadership in Virginia – when asked about Watters’ comment, there was no response. Bloomberg’s Francis Wilkinson muses about how the Democrats’ behavior is completely justified.
Over at The Federalist, David Harsanyi had a great take on what things would be like like were the roles reversed:
Now, should it even be said that if any conservative had called for mobs to badger Democrats when they’re at the supermarket, the nation would be thrust into a national dialogue about the growing and perilous incivility on the Right. There would be a flood of anxious op-ed pieces and cable news roundtables featuring chin-stroking hypocrites contemplating the future of discourse in America. No one would be spared. Every Republican politician on Earth would be asked to condemn these comments.
Why am I speculating? This is exactly what happened during the peaceful Tea Party protests.
The usually sensible Jim Geraghty at National Review looked at the events with a seemingly sensible but sadly misguided conclusion:
This is a genie that does not go back into the bottle easily. A lot of people in politics remember the examples of their side being attacked and conclude this is how the entirety of the opposition wants to play the game. The rallying cry on the Right on Twitter these days is “you’re going to hate the new rules” — basically conservatives cheerfully announcing they or their brethren will adopt any tactic used by the Left. Turnabout is fair play; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. (Lord knows I’ve long lamented the glaring double standard and the need for one bipartisan set of rules for public debate.)
The problem is that this cycle of tit-for-tat leads more and more people conclude that the opposition only understands the language of force and that they cannot be negotiated with, persuaded, or even tolerated in a form of coexistence.
We could steer away from this path, if there was a broad, across-the-spectrum denunciation of comments like the one from Waters, reemphasizing that in the United States, we settle our differences through debate and discourse and the ballot box and in the courtroom — not by stirring up an angry crowd and implying (or maybe more than implying) a threat of physical violence against the political opposition. But that’s too much to ask in this polarized — Balkanized? — environment, isn’t it?
For someone with Geraghty’s experience and credentials I’m surprised at how naive his conclusion is (although the entire article is worth reading), where Jazz Shaw nails it over at Hot Air:
When the Tea Party held rallies where they obtained permits and stayed within designated marching routes or gathering areas, the Black Lives Matter movement closed down highways and airports or organized “black brunch” where businesses were closed down. When the right gathers petitions to not have a statue of Lenin in the public square, the left simply goes and tears down symbols they don’t like. And now we’re at the point where government officials must be hounded out of public spaces when they are off the clock?
This isn’t going to end unless there is an actual incentive for it to end. And the media isn’t going to supply that incentive since most of those folks either openly support social warfare or convey signals that they privately do. In the months which have passed since Donald Trump’s inauguration, the accepted rules of engagement have been thrown out the window and if you want that to stop you’re going to have to answer in kind. As I was saying on Twitter this weekend, the day is coming when the Democrats are going to take back the White House and one or both chambers of Congress. It may not be immediately, but it absolutely will happen sooner or later.
Nobody is going to get the message until Democrats and liberals find out that they don’t get a free pass to behave in this fashion and go unanswered.
I think that Shaw has captured the best endgame for Conservatives better than Geraghty did. The only time you’ll hear a Leftist acknowledge that their behavior is wrong is when you hear them say “Both sides need to stop!” Leftists hate having their tactics thrown back in their faces. As things stand they see their policies as successful against an enemy that they despise. Unless they are given a reason to dial back their behavior, they will only continue to build on it.
Violence over political differences is horrible, but I don’t see any way to stop the Democrats before they kill someone. If anyone has any suggestions I’d like to hear them. And this is one of the rare times I’ll ask of anyone posting in the comments to keep them to constructive ideas, and that goes for the folks from both sides.
It will be a great day and a horrible day when Democrats come to hate the people who want to kill them as much as they hate conservatives
— Ultra Magas Brother Bob (@Brother_Bob) November 19, 2015
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Cross posted from Brother Bob’s Blog
