In light of recent violence, politicians should set aside fiery rhetoric
After last month’s violent assault on Paul Pelosi — the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — denunciations of the attack came swiftly from both sides of the political aisle. Yet that moment of unified condemnation quickly passed.
Before long, a few Republicans, such as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, were making light of the situation. On the other side of the political aisle, liberals such as Hillary Clinton and Democratic strategist David Axelrod were lamenting the unique pervasiveness of right-wing political extremism. Newly minted Twitter CEO Elon Musk bellyflopped into the mix by pushing a conspiracy theory involving Paul Pelosi’s personal life.
The suspect in the assault, David DePape, appears to have been active in online conspiracy theories. Upon entering the speaker’s home while Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, DePape allegedly shouted, “Where’s Nancy?” multiple times. Paul Pelosi wound up with a skull fracture after confronting DePape, who was wielding a hammer, according to authorities. Federal and state prosecutors have filed charges against DePape, including attempted murder and attempted kidnapping of a United States official.
Political violence is nothing new in this country. From 1865 to 1901, the U.S. saw three presidents assassinated. This trend continued steadily throughout the 20th century. Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning for a third run at the presidency. Franklin D. Roosevelt was nearly shot a month before his first inauguration. (The assassin’s bullet instead struck and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was standing nearby.) John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963. Nearly two decades later, Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. During the last decade, two U.S. representatives were shot during assassination attempts: Democrat Gabby Giffords in 2011 and Republican Steve Scalise in 2017.
Yet, when it comes to violence from the political right, some pundits have worried about a trend that could be traced to Jan. 6, 2021, the day a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A recent Associated Press report found the attack on Paul Pelosi to be an “unsettling echo” of Jan. 6. In The New York Times, columnist Maureen Dowd noted that DePape shouting “Where’s Nancy?” was eerily reminiscent of shouts that came from some of the Capitol rioters. President Joe Biden also made that connection in his prime-time speech on Wednesday, pointing out that the Jan. 6 protesters used those “very same words.”
It’s tempting to view political extremism through the prism of its most notorious recent example. But Jan. 6 was merely a symptom of the disease that plagues our politics. It’s by no means the only symptom.
While recriminations were still flying over the attack on Pelosi, news broke that a Chicago resident, Scott Lennox, was charged this past week with threatening to torture and murder Darren Bailey, the Illinois Republican nominee for governor. According to prosecutors, Lennox became enraged after watching one of Bailey’s political advertisements and felt compelled to deliver his threats in an expletive-laden voicemail. According to authorities, in his voicemail Lennox accused the gubernatorial candidate of being a racist and peddling misinformation and criticized his stance on abortion. (Bailey is staunchly anti-abortion rights.)
This past June, a man carrying a pistol, ammunition and zip-ties staked out the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Authorities arrested Nicholas Roske before he was able to carry out his alleged plan. Roske later told investigators that he was motivated by the impending overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Barely a month before police thwarted the attack on Kavanaugh, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board fretted that the lives of Supreme Court justices could be at risk following a leak of the draft opinion. “It’s an awful thought,” the editorial board wrote, “but we live in fanatical times.” This seems hauntingly prescient. But why was it so predictable?
Probably because partisans see themselves as battling for the country’s future while viewing the other side as an existential threat. Before the riot that broke out on Jan. 6, Trump gave a raucous speech in front of his supporters, advising the crowd to “fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He further advised that if Biden became president, “our country will be destroyed and we’re not going to stand for that.”
Tuesday’s midterm elections are likewise being couched in dire terms. A seemingly endless stream of advertisements warns that your rights and freedoms are at risk of being taken away if this party or that party wins the election. Or, as Biden recently put it, “Democracy itself is on the ballot.”
The political hyperbole — that America will be destroyed or democracy subverted — may rile up the political base, but it will also resonate with those who have been politically radicalized online. When the stakes are portrayed as being this high, those individuals can feel motivated to take drastic actions. Politicians are not responsible for the actions of disturbed individuals bent on violence, but it’s important to recognize that words matter.
The loudest voices in the political arena have been successful at seizing the political narrative. As moderate voices are drowned out by the most partisan, the center necessarily gives way to the fringe. If politicians care to regain control over the country’s passions, then it’s past time to set aside fiery political rhetoric and allow for cooler heads to prevail.
It’s tempting to view political extremism through the prism of its most notorious recent example. But Jan. 6 was merely a symptom of the disease that plagues our politics. It’s by no means the only symptom.