This is completely out of control
The recent assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi is unfortunately just the latest attack as right-wing rhetoric gets worse. While a few Republicans sent their condolences after the House speaker’s husband was hospitalized, it’s unlikely that their attacks will tone down – particularly since this is the kind of dangerous rhetoric that energizes their base and that the party was glorifying until Friday morning when they tweeted their regrets.
Other Republicans decided to try a way of doubling down, by blaming the targeted attack on Democrats’ failure to fund the police – despite the fact that they’ve done the opposite.
It might sound like hyperbole to point out that prior to President Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas in 1963, the dangerous right-wing rhetoric also reached a fever pitch – even with a newspaper that put out a bounty ad on the president.
Republicans might pretend to be outraged or shocked that these attacks happened – but they haven’t put it much effort at doing so – and the last thing we should do is let them run away from the violence that they themselves glorified in their own attack ads during this campaign. The fact is that Republicans want to run on crime as a problem, so much that they’re willing to commit them if it means taking back power. This is why we need to get voters to come out in droves and keep the GOP from taking power at any level on Nov 8. ` “ “ `
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making