The threat of violence is undermining democracy. And former President Donald Trump and Republicans are to blame.
Or at least that is the message the New York Times delivered to readers with its recent story headlined, “Fear and menace are transforming politics: Public officials from Congress to city hall are now regularly subjected to threats of violence.”
The story begins with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) being threatened at his home by a Trump voter before the New York Times says that Trump himself has “refused to rule out violence if he were to lose in November.
The New York Times then goes on to claim, without any evidence, that “Democrats by and large have been the loudest voices in trying to quell political violence” and “recent acts of political violence are more likely to be carried out by perpetrators aligned with right-wing causes and beliefs.”
In the 36th paragraph, the New York Times does mention in passing an “assault on the congressional baseball team by a gunmen upset by Mr. Tump’s election,” but the overwhelming majority of examples from the article are Republicans harassing Democrats.
No mention is made of all the protesters who showed up at the homes of mayors and elected officials during the Black Lives Matter riots, especially not when BLM protesters vandalized the home of Oakland’s mayor.
Nor is the arrest of a man outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh mentioned. The suspect, who was eventually accused of trying to assassinate Kavanaugh, was found with a pistol, ammunition, a knife, and zip ties.
President Joe Biden even downplayed the menace of protesting at the homes of Supreme Court justices, with Jen Psaki, White House press secretary at the time, commenting, “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest.”
More recently, Democratic activists have been showing up at the homes of Biden administration officials to protest Biden’s failure to secure a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Protesters have been camping outside Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s home for months, and the tactic has even filtered down to lesser-known officials. Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis has had her home targeted in recent weeks.
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Protesting outside a public official’s home is an inherently threatening tactic. It is designed to make public officials feel vulnerable and exposed. No matter how “peaceful” protesters claim to be, it only takes one bad decision by an emotional activist to turn any situation bloody. Those representing a movement that views the raping, kidnapping, and murder of civilians as justifiable tactics are particularly alarming.
If the New York Times and its Democratic readers are really interested in reducing threats of political violence, they need to take a much stronger stand against protesting at people’s homes, especially the homes of people they disagree with politically.