Like everyone else here in this forum, I presume, I condemn political violence.
But I am very dismayed to have heard journalists and political pundits over the weekend talk about how the Democrats and Republicans have united to condemn political violence.
NO – to be clear, the Democrats have been consistent in their condemnation of politic…
Like everyone else here in this forum, I presume, I condemn political violence.
But I am very dismayed to have heard journalists and political pundits over the weekend talk about how the Democrats and Republicans have united to condemn political violence.
NO – to be clear, the Democrats have been consistent in their condemnation of political violence towards anyone. The Republicans have only condemned it when it is aimed towards their candidate or a fellow Republican. When Paul Pelosi was attacked, it was a laughing matter…
Just more than a week ago Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation stated: “… we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be” ?
Now, this morning, I am hearing that some elected Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the attempted assassination of trump, and journalists and pundits are saying they will be watching in the next few days to see if the Democrats dial back their “rhetoric” regarding the existential threat that trump and the Republican Party pose to democracy.
To quote Charlie Sykes, “FFS”.
The media has got to get a grip on what is happening. If trump wins in November, they will want each of us to care when they are targeted in the way that authoritarian regimes target a free press. I want THEM to care BEFORE that happens. Democracy may die in darkness, but we are now certain that it can also die in the full light of day.
Remember that when Democrats will be fully blamed for not saving Democracy yet again…
History will be much more clear-eyed, I suspect. They will take note of Biden’s refusal to step aside, to be sure, but the bulk of the blame will rest squarely where it belongs: on the shoulders of a sick and compliant Republican Party that chose power in an authoritarian regime over democracy, a free press that continually confuses both-sides-ism with fairness, and a bought-and-paid-for Supreme MAGAroo Court that left impartiality to die by the wayside, then purposefully slow-walked their absurd Presidential Immunity decision to bolster their favored candidate’s chances in November…
David Frum’s framing of this is excellent. Donald Trump’s entire political career has been a case study of encouraging, obliquely justifying, minimizing the severity of, and taking pleasure in political violence… as long as it happens to the Other.
It is not extreme to point out that this guy tried to steal the previous presidential election with lies and violence after the voters rejected him, while still stating that he must be defeated at the ballot box and condemning this attempt on his life and any suggestions that violent reprisal is ever acceptable. If Trump continues to excuse the January 6th rioters with whataboutism and lauding them as patriots and political prisoners, then he should be condemned as a hypocrite who only hates political violence when it’s visited on him. If Trump shocks us by acting like he’s chastened and starts saying less crazy things like “if I lose this election, my followers should accept it”, then maybe this is indeed an opportunity to lower the temperature. It won’t be sincere unless he’s willing to defenestrate Marge, though.
David Frum’s framing of this is excellent. Donald Trump’s entire political career has been a case study of encouraging, obliquely justifying, minimizing the severity of, and taking pleasure in political violence… as long as it happens to the Other.
It is not extreme to point out that this guy tried to steal the previous presidential election with lies and violence after the voters rejected him, while still stating that he must be defeated at the ballot box and condemning this attempt on his life and any suggestions that violent reprisal is ever acceptable. If Trump continues to excuse the January 6th rioters with whataboutism and lauding them as patriots and political prisoners, then he should be condemned as a hypocrite who only hates political violence when it’s visited on him. If Trump shocks us by acting like he’s chastened and starts saying less crazy things like “if I lose this election, my followers should accept it”, then maybe this is indeed an opportunity to lower the temperature. It won’t be sincere unless he’s willing to defenestrate Marge, though.
Yeah, I have it on good authority that we're in a third world country and we're going to lose even that if we don't fight like hell. The crowded Starbucks was really taken aback after I read that and jumped on a table to proclaim that Trump alone could fix it.
The New Yorker just got its butt handed to them in the comments section regarding Biden attacking the MSM. However, the MSM bothsidesism remains a key problem.
"Democrats should fight back when they are slandered and defamed. Perhaps they should move to secure the best standard-bearer possible for a very important election. Perhaps they should seek to win instead of being resigned to losing."
But his implication that President Biden is not "the best standard-bearer possible" is quite in line with the MSM, who keep banging the anti-Biden drum.
Let us be clear about this:
No candidate, other than President Biden, is stepping forward to say "Follow me! I can lead the Democratic Party to victory in November and here's how I'll do it." No one.
There's a reason for that. All the dream candidates are professionals who understand that you can't build a presidential campaign in two months. It takes two years. Only the most exceptional and charismatic leader would dare to try. And such a person would not be waiting to see which way the wind blows before taking the leap.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the nominees. We've had more than two weeks to reach another conclusion. It's just not there. They can definitely win this election, but what's happening now is suicidal.
Everyone must unite behind President Biden immediately. There is no viable alternative.
Respectfully, a cogent argument can also be made that no one has stepped forward to say "Follow me! I can lead the Democratic Party to victory in November and here's how I'll do it." simply because that is not done in politics when you have well-respected and beloved President adamantly claiming that he will not step down under any circumstances. There are just as many other democrats (and more importantly, swing and never-trump republican voters) who can make a reasonable argument that Biden can no longer win....
Also with respect, a cogent and reasonable argument is not the same as a persuasive argument. In July, 2016 hardly anyone believed that Donald Trump could win. Even in September, 2016 hardly anyone believed that Donald Trump could win (including by some reports, Donald Trump himself).
And yet . . .
For the record, it's not true that President Biden is refusing to step down under any circumstances. What he said is that he won't withdraw unless shown that he can't win.
And to quote the President, "No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”
Like everyone else here in this forum, I presume, I condemn political violence.
But I am very dismayed to have heard journalists and political pundits over the weekend talk about how the Democrats and Republicans have united to condemn political violence.
NO – to be clear, the Democrats have been consistent in their condemnation of political violence towards anyone. The Republicans have only condemned it when it is aimed towards their candidate or a fellow Republican. When Paul Pelosi was attacked, it was a laughing matter…
Just more than a week ago Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation stated: “… we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be” ?
Now, this morning, I am hearing that some elected Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the attempted assassination of trump, and journalists and pundits are saying they will be watching in the next few days to see if the Democrats dial back their “rhetoric” regarding the existential threat that trump and the Republican Party pose to democracy.
To quote Charlie Sykes, “FFS”.
The media has got to get a grip on what is happening. If trump wins in November, they will want each of us to care when they are targeted in the way that authoritarian regimes target a free press. I want THEM to care BEFORE that happens. Democracy may die in darkness, but we are now certain that it can also die in the full light of day.
Remember that when Democrats will be fully blamed for not saving Democracy yet again…
History will be much more clear-eyed, I suspect. They will take note of Biden’s refusal to step aside, to be sure, but the bulk of the blame will rest squarely where it belongs: on the shoulders of a sick and compliant Republican Party that chose power in an authoritarian regime over democracy, a free press that continually confuses both-sides-ism with fairness, and a bought-and-paid-for Supreme MAGAroo Court that left impartiality to die by the wayside, then purposefully slow-walked their absurd Presidential Immunity decision to bolster their favored candidate’s chances in November…
David Frum’s framing of this is excellent. Donald Trump’s entire political career has been a case study of encouraging, obliquely justifying, minimizing the severity of, and taking pleasure in political violence… as long as it happens to the Other.
It is not extreme to point out that this guy tried to steal the previous presidential election with lies and violence after the voters rejected him, while still stating that he must be defeated at the ballot box and condemning this attempt on his life and any suggestions that violent reprisal is ever acceptable. If Trump continues to excuse the January 6th rioters with whataboutism and lauding them as patriots and political prisoners, then he should be condemned as a hypocrite who only hates political violence when it’s visited on him. If Trump shocks us by acting like he’s chastened and starts saying less crazy things like “if I lose this election, my followers should accept it”, then maybe this is indeed an opportunity to lower the temperature. It won’t be sincere unless he’s willing to defenestrate Marge, though.
David Frum’s framing of this is excellent. Donald Trump’s entire political career has been a case study of encouraging, obliquely justifying, minimizing the severity of, and taking pleasure in political violence… as long as it happens to the Other.
It is not extreme to point out that this guy tried to steal the previous presidential election with lies and violence after the voters rejected him, while still stating that he must be defeated at the ballot box and condemning this attempt on his life and any suggestions that violent reprisal is ever acceptable. If Trump continues to excuse the January 6th rioters with whataboutism and lauding them as patriots and political prisoners, then he should be condemned as a hypocrite who only hates political violence when it’s visited on him. If Trump shocks us by acting like he’s chastened and starts saying less crazy things like “if I lose this election, my followers should accept it”, then maybe this is indeed an opportunity to lower the temperature. It won’t be sincere unless he’s willing to defenestrate Marge, though.
Yeah, I have it on good authority that we're in a third world country and we're going to lose even that if we don't fight like hell. The crowded Starbucks was really taken aback after I read that and jumped on a table to proclaim that Trump alone could fix it.
The New Yorker just got its butt handed to them in the comments section regarding Biden attacking the MSM. However, the MSM bothsidesism remains a key problem.
Mr. Kristol is absolutely right about this:
"Democrats should fight back when they are slandered and defamed. Perhaps they should move to secure the best standard-bearer possible for a very important election. Perhaps they should seek to win instead of being resigned to losing."
But his implication that President Biden is not "the best standard-bearer possible" is quite in line with the MSM, who keep banging the anti-Biden drum.
Let us be clear about this:
No candidate, other than President Biden, is stepping forward to say "Follow me! I can lead the Democratic Party to victory in November and here's how I'll do it." No one.
There's a reason for that. All the dream candidates are professionals who understand that you can't build a presidential campaign in two months. It takes two years. Only the most exceptional and charismatic leader would dare to try. And such a person would not be waiting to see which way the wind blows before taking the leap.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the nominees. We've had more than two weeks to reach another conclusion. It's just not there. They can definitely win this election, but what's happening now is suicidal.
Everyone must unite behind President Biden immediately. There is no viable alternative.
.
Respectfully, a cogent argument can also be made that no one has stepped forward to say "Follow me! I can lead the Democratic Party to victory in November and here's how I'll do it." simply because that is not done in politics when you have well-respected and beloved President adamantly claiming that he will not step down under any circumstances. There are just as many other democrats (and more importantly, swing and never-trump republican voters) who can make a reasonable argument that Biden can no longer win....
Also with respect, a cogent and reasonable argument is not the same as a persuasive argument. In July, 2016 hardly anyone believed that Donald Trump could win. Even in September, 2016 hardly anyone believed that Donald Trump could win (including by some reports, Donald Trump himself).
And yet . . .
For the record, it's not true that President Biden is refusing to step down under any circumstances. What he said is that he won't withdraw unless shown that he can't win.
And to quote the President, "No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”
.
Perfectly said. Thank you!