Viewpoints:
Lack of respect for others has consequences. And contributes to bigger problems.
Escalating the political vitriol isn’t good for either side.
It was just one year ago.
A Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer named James Hodgkinson opened fire on the GOP congressional baseball team. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and three others was shot on that field in Alexandria, Virginia.
Leaders of both parties were quick to condemn the attempted mass assassination, calling on all Americans to renew their dedication to civility.
How soon we forget.
This month, Scalise finally made it back to the baseball diamond. A week later, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., called for the public harassment of everyone working for President Donald Trump.
Great, let’s escalate the vitriol
“If you see anybody from the Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, and a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd to push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” Waters said to the cheering crowd.
Waters happily encouraged the progressive mobs that had already begun chasing Trump officials out of public spaces.
Department of Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen stopped by a District of Columbia restaurant only to be chased out by Democratic Socialists of America protesters screaming “Abolish ICE! Abolish ICE!” A mob later visited her home to scream some more.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and seven family members were booted from a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, for the crime of unapproved political beliefs. Waiter Jaike Foley-Schultz posted on Facebook: “I just served Sarah huckabee sanders for a total of 2 minutes before my owner asked her to leave.”
These ejections were allegedly related to Trump’s already-rescinded zerotolerance policy on illegal immigration. That excuse doesn’t hold up, however, since White House staffers weren’t the only ones being harassed.
All Republicans are targets of public shaming
Apparently, any official with an R after her name is a target.
In Florida, protesters accosted state Attorney General Pam Bondi outside a Tampa theater showing a documentary about Fred Rogers — the very embodiment of civility. Bondi had to be escorted out of the scrum by law enforcement as the crowd shouted, jeered and spit.
“We were in a movie about anti-bullying and practicing peace and love and tolerance and accepting of people for their differences,” Bondi said. “That’s what Mr. Rogers is all about. We all believe in free speech, but there’s a big difference there.”
Of course, any call for civility must begin with Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and personal insults. He’s no Mr. Rogers, to say the least. Trump is easily the least-civil president of the modern era.
Yet, as bad as he is, mobs of college Republicans aren’t chasing Maxine Waters out of restaurants or wielding bullhorns outside her house.
Members of the so-called Resistance claim that Trump is a unique evil. He was separating families seeking asylum, making genteel standards of civility passé. Why, it’s Hitler all over again!
But the left equating a president to Hitler is nothing new. Every Republican president and presidential nominee for the past 40 years has been called the same.
As noted above, however, Trump had already returned to Obama-style border policies before last week’s harassment. And long before the heart-wrenching photos at ICE facilities, Federa; Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were harassed by leftist mobs for reversing “net neutrality” and promoting school choice.
Physical confrontation escalation is dangerous
Those are hardly life-and-death issues. Nevertheless, both officials required physical protection after their support for mainstream positions.
The obvious worry about these physical confrontations is escalation. Groups of screaming protesters may just be exercising their First Amendment rights. Or, perhaps they have a James Hodgkinson among them. A nervous security detail might make the wrong assessment — as might a politician with a concealed carry permit. The slightest misstep in these situations could lead to tragic results.
A more political concern, however, is how utterly self-defeating these aggressive protests are. If blue mobs harass Republican politicians, how long until red mobs harass Democratic politicians? And if public officials are fair game, why not average citizens?
When it comes to the midterm elections, angry protests are a political loser for Democrats. The best thing going for Democratic candidates is the enthusiasm of their voters compared with indifferent Republicans. By making GOP voters feel under siege, progressive harassers