It has been said the loser contributes as much to the outcome of a battle as the victor.
Insofar as the clinical and brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk is concerned, the Republican Party has too many members who are ensuring another historic loss (and progressives another win) in coming elections.
Surely there could be Republican consensus.
The victim was truly innocent, the killer and the progressive ideology that drove him to murder truly evil.
And yet, to the eternal and everlasting shame of many in the Republican Party, we hear calls not of anger or outrage, but of “moderation” and “civility.” This is how the Republican Party blows its clarion call of surrender.
As an emblematic example of Republican learned helplessness, watch NBC’s recent interview of Utah’s Republican governor (Spencer J. Cox) by the network’s resident progressive propagandist, Kristin Welker.
Cox struck a conciliatory tone early on, something Welker recognized and warmly encouraged.
Cox spoke in vague, clinical terms about Kirk’s assassination, the unfolding investigation and, indeed, he seemed more concerned about reassuring the concerned-looking Welker than he was about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
When Welker asked about the killer’s motive, Cox was quite equivocal in his statements, saying the killer came from a “conservative family” after which he apologetically hedged by stating the killer’s ideology was “different” from that of his family’s.
Cox spoke in vague terms about Kirk’s “death” (when he should have used the term “murder”), his tone was measured and agreeable as he elucidated on the role social media plays in society, the need for proper sleep and exercise, among other blandly apolitical observations.
Of note is that at no point during the interview did Cox aggressively confront Welker by saying, for example, “progressive propaganda caused one of your followers to murder Charlie Kirk, and you, Kristin, are a major part of pushing hateful, anti-conservative rhetoric resulting in assassinations like this.”
No, Cox was well-mannered and obedient. He made it abundantly clear he was not there to fight or confront Welker, but he would abjectly surrender without firing a figurative shot. For her part, Welker, astutely recognizing Cox was yet another Republican stoolpigeon, rewarded Cox by heaping praise upon his exceedingly temperate characterization of the ghastly murder.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham had a similar interview with NBC News whereby he also struck an agreeable tone with his progressive interlocutor.
In watching this interview it was impossible to escape the conclusion that Republicans simply have no passion. They cannot or will not protect me, my friends, or my family from progressive mobs and murderers. They cannot or will not punish progressives who would murder us. Republicans are “nice guys,” and nice guys (or at least their constituents) get slaughtered by passionate progressives who live and die by their hateful cause. To see the impassive Cox breaking bread with a wretched progressive like Kristin Welker in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination filled me with an unutterable loathing.
The distinction between progressives and Republicans like Cox is this — progressives have passion for their people whereas Cox (and Republicans writ large) does not.
Consider this example — a Minneapolis fentanyl addict by the name of George Floyd (whom the coroner initially ruled died of a fentanyl overdose until the FBI and a progressive judge intimidated him into implicating the police) resulted in the burning of American cities coast-to-coast.
Dozens were murdered, many more lives were destroyed, and all this was aided, abetted, and funded by Democrat-aligned special interests and their media proxies.
Progressives put serious money (and passion) into supporting and organizing the 2020 riots as a means to destabilize the country (which benefitted the Democrat party through revised voting rules, etc.). Progressives made a statement to Republicans—a terrible, hate-filled statement that they would tear the country apart to get their way. And it worked. Passionless Republicans (like Cox and Graham), cowed and terrorized in equal measure, relented to virtually everything the progressives demanded (resulting in the progressives’ 2020 landslide wins).
What does it say about the Republican Party if their progressive opponents are willing to burn the country to the ground to protect “one of their own” (a known criminal and drug-addict who died of a fentanyl overdose) while their Republican counterparts cannot muster even a trivial fraction of that anger and rage for the cold-blooded execution of Charlie Kirk (a husband and father of two who never harmed anybody and who additionally helped the Republican Party at the polls)?
Where is Republican passion? Where is it?
In coming back to Cox’s NBC interview, if you care about Charlie Kirk’s life even a little it was jarring to watch.
Cox’s smooth, clinical, and passive assurances to Welker seemed bereft of emotion. He displayed no outrage, he sidestepped landmines like a pro and spoke in bland and reassuring terms to calm a visibly worried Welker.
There was no word about retribution for Charlie, there was no effort to lay the blame for Charlie’s murder where it actually belonged (at the left's feet).
His demeanor oozed peace and tranquility, basically assuring progressive viewers there would be no price to pay for Charlie Kirk’s murder.
No wonder why Kristin Welker loves Cox. He’s a Republican who knows his place.
Because of people like this, we do not think of ourselves as Republicans anymore. Too many Republicans have abandoned us too many times (in order to join the likes of Welker); they have looked the other way while we’ve been mauled and murdered by their progressive opponents. They do not protect their own with fire and fury (as progressives do).
These kinds of Republicans blandly accept any outrage, no matter how great, to prioritize conflict-avoidance over all else.
Republicans make bold claims that political assassinations are intolerable while continuing to tolerate it. Fortune favors the bold (if not always the brave) and Republicans are neither. Progressives, regrettably, are both. With friends like these Republicans, who needs enemies?
And so, in closing, “nice guys finish last.” And so, to my former Republican colleagues who like to capitulate, hear me now — so, too, will you.
Image: Screen shot from NBC video, via YouTube