If there’s one constant in the universe, it’s the left’s preternatural ability to see right-wing bogeymen behind every tree and under every bed. No matter the issue, the left absolutely must create drama and danger and raise the specter of violence where none exists. How can they expect us to admire them for their “courage” in”speaking truth to power”?
“Oh, yeah? What about dat January 6 revolution?” they might claim. “Look how close the fascists came to overthrowing the government!”
We’re sending people to jail for years because they put their feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk. That’s hysterical. I still unequivocally condemn the violation of the sanctity of our democratic processes that happened that day, but the hysterical overreaction that resulted in several hundred indictments and jail terms has now led to taking the bloodcurdling rhetoric from other rightwing numbskulls at face value and worrying about some sort of violence erupting if Donald Trump is convicted.
The January 6 Committee still can’t make a case that the brain-dead mouthbreathers on January 6 were actually trying to overthrow the government. They still can’t connect Trump or any of his top aides to any plot to “overturn” an election that had already been certified as valid. But we’re supposed to believe that these internet ruffians are serious about doing anything violent if Trump is sent to jail.
In social media posts and public remarks, close allies of Mr. Trump — including a member of Congress — have portrayed the indictment as an act of war, called for retribution and highlighted the fact that much of his base carries weapons. The allies have painted Mr. Trump as a victim of a weaponized Justice Department controlled by President Biden, his potential opponent in the 2024 election.
They were armed on January 6 as well — thousands of marchers and rioters had guns. The Proud Boys had stacks of weapons. But the only person shot was a military veteran who was shot and killed by a Capitol policeman. Did they forget they had guns? Why were there no volleys coming from the rioters?
Joe Biden has yet to explain why his biggest rival for the presidency has just been indicted and will be tried at the height of the 2024 presidential election. Is he even going to bother defending himself?
The calls to action and threats have been amplified on right-wing media sites and have been met by supportive responses from social media users and cheers from crowds, who have become conditioned over several years by Mr. Trump and his allies to see any efforts to hold him accountable as assaults against him.
Experts on political violence warn that attacks against people or institutions become more likely when elected officials or prominent media figures are able to issue threats or calls for violence with impunity. The pro-Trump mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was drawn to Washington in part by a post on Twitter from Mr. Trump weeks earlier, promising that it would be “wild.”
Oh, for God’s sake, what a load of malarkey. The tweet in question was from December 19 — nearly three weeks before the riot. If you asked the 50,000 people who showed up for the speech and the 10,000 or so who marched to the Capitol along with the 2,000 who breached the doors of the Capitol Building if they heard of that tweet or read it, how many do you suppose would say it inspired them to riot?
It’s the “Sarah Palin Bullseye” on steroids. It’s idiotic. And to use the now-deleted tweet as “evidence” that Trump incited a riot then and could incite another one is silly.
Donald Trump is a bomb thrower — sort of like AOC but with much better hair. Internet threats are flying all over the place, including one from the losing GOP candidate for Arizona governor, Kari Lake.
“I have a message tonight for Merrick Garland and Jack Smith and Joe Biden — and the guys back there in the fake news media, you should listen up as well, this one is for you,” Ms. Lake said. “If you want to get to President Trump, you are going to have go through me, and you are going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me. And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the N.R.A.”
The crowd cheered.
Ms. Lake added: “That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.
How stupid do you have to be to take this threat literally? I remember a few years ago being called out for urging Republicans to hang a Democratic politician “from the highest yardarm.” Not only did most of my critics not even know what a “yardarm” was, but some of them wanted me arrested for making a “terrorist threat” against a politician.
I’d suggest that the far left relax. The idea that there are going to be riots in the streets because Donald Trump might go to jail is far-fetched. It’s perhaps more revealing of the left’s desire to continue trying to frighten people to give the government extraordinary powers to deal with this “threat.”
Eventually, the left will talk itself into urging Biden to crack down on “extremism.” That’s when the violence will become real.