Both sides are not the same

The violence from the right is highly targeted by people who believe they are following orders.

We’ve had an awful weekend of political violence. Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, a Raleigh native and UNC-CH alumnus, were assassinated and a Minnesota state Senator and his wife were shot a combined 17 times, luckily and improbably surviving. Both attacks happened at the victims’ homes.

The alleged murderer carried a list of about 70 targets that included most of the top Democratic leaders in Minnesota and abortion providers. He was radicalized by MAGA and InfoWars, according to his roommate and self-described “best friend.” Fortunately, authorities captured him alive last night.

The right’s response to the shootings was scary for the country. Initial details about the suspect noted that he had been appointed to a state board by Democratic Governors Mark Dayton and Tim Walz. Immediately, conservative keyboard warriors started blaming the left, trying desperately to create and spread a false narrative. They tried to concoct a story that Walz had ordered the killings because Hortman voted against legislation he supported.

Former Trump advisor and alleged Kristi Noem paramour Mike Cernovich tweeted, “The Vice President candidate for the Democrat party is directly connected to a domestic terrorist, that is confirmed, the only question is whether Tim Walz himself ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.”

Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah tweeted, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”

It was all bullshit. The murderer was an avid Trump supporter and evangelical Christian.

The political violence in the country is out of control. We’re more violent than we’ve been since the 1960s. Only one party promotes violence, though, and it’s not the Democrats.

For years, Republicans have been trying to create a false narrative about Democrats supporting or encouraging political violence. They blamed the George Floyd riots on the party. They tried to tie Luigi Mangione to the party. They’ve blamed the antisemitic violence of the attack on Jews in Colorado and the murder of young Israeli embassy workers on “leftists.” They insist that Democrats are allowing violent gangs to proliferate through the country.

None of it’s true. The riots in 2020 were a national reaction of years of young, unarmed Black men dying at the hands of police or vigilantes, not calls to action by Democratic leaders. No Democrats ever encouraged Mangione by urging violence against health insurance executives. The Gaza protestors might be leftists, but they were protesting Joe Biden’s policies and the highest ranking Democrat in Washington, Chuck Schumer, is Jewish. An overwhelming majority of the party supports Israel’s right to exist even if many Democrats are deeply disturbed by the violence in Gaza.

In contrast, Republicans are urged by their leader to see Democrats as enemies and evil. Donald Trump urged his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6. Just last night, less than 48 hours after one of his supporters gunned down Democratic elected officials, he posted on his Truth Social site, “These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our inner cities.” The post is essentially a declaration of war on Democratic run cities and calls for the politicization of federal law enforcement to undermine local control.

No Republicans will condemn Trump’s post. They will ignore Mike Lee and Mike Cernovich. But they will send thoughts and prayers to victims of Republican violence. There is no accountability among Republicans.

They refuse to police their own, but they will always cast blame. When North Carolina state Democratic Representative Julie von Haefen posted a photo that showed a woman with a picture of a guillotine and two wigged heads, Republican House Speaker Destin Hall rebuked her and said he will look into additional disciplinary action. Von Haefen quickly apologized, took down the post, and admitted it was inappropriate. If Hall is not a hypocrite, he’ll call out Donald Trump. Don’t hold your breath.

Political violence is coming to a head in the country, but on only one side is it directed at power. The violence from riots and protests is reactionary, sporadic, and mostly random. It’s not spurred by calls for action from a major political party. The violence against Jews is deeply disturbing and rooted in historical prejudice, but it’s not encouraged or promoted by the Democratic Party.

The violence on the right is highly targeted with a goal of destroying or deterring political power and policies. It’s also fomented by the rhetoric of Republican leaders and elected officials, especially the President of the United States. The victims are abortion providers, activists, and Democratic elected officials.

The perpetrators of violence from the left are routinely and vociferously condemned by Democratic leaders and the Democratic Party. The perpetrators on the right believe they are just following orders.