I think that Marc Thiessen’s latest Washington Post column is worth considering:
The outpouring of hatred on the left has been shocking, with people taking sick joy in his death. For conservatives, the vile response to the killing of an activist who respectfully engaged those with whom he disagreed has been eye-opening: Many on the left don’t simply disagree; they support violence against those they disagree with.
That is not hyperbole. A YouGov poll conducted in the wake of Kirk’s killing asked Americans: “Do you generally consider it to be acceptable or unacceptable for a person to be happy about the death of a public figure they oppose?” Ninety-one percent of conservatives said it was “always or usually” not acceptable, as did 90 percent of those who are “very conservative.” But only 56 percent of those who are “very liberal” and 73 percent of liberals said celebrating the death of someone with whom they disagreed was unacceptable.
It gets worse. YouGov asked: “Do you think it is ever justified for citizens to resort to violence in order to achieve political goals?” Eighty-three percent of conservatives and 88 percent of those who are very conservative said political violence is never justified. That is, in my opinion, lower than it should be. But on the left? Only 68 percent of liberals, and 55 percent of those who are “very liberal,” said political violence was never justified. Seventeen percent of the former and 25 percent of the latter said it was sometimes justified — shockingly high numbers.
This poll is not an outlier. A survey from Rutgers University found that 56 percent of left-of-center respondents said the murder of President Donald Trump would be at least partially justified, while 50 percent said killing Elon Musk could be justified.
As I’ve been saying for some time, both Republicans and Democrats have serious problems but the problems are not symmetrical. In my opinion 10% of your supporters thinking that violence against your political opponents is bad. Anything approaching a majority thinking that violence against your political opponents as is the case with Democrats is not tolerable.
Mr. Thiessen continues:
These numbers should be a wake-up call. The acceptance, and even celebration, of political violence on the left is a serious problem for our democracy. And it is the responsibility of those on the left who don’t share that belief to take the lead in fighting this worrisome trend. To his credit, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) released a video in which he praised Charlie Kirk for engaging the other side, and declared that “every American, no matter what one’s political point-of-view may be, must condemn all forms of political violence.”
Many on the left like to condemn Trump’s rhetoric but conveniently overlook the dehumanizing rhetoric of their own leaders. President Joe Biden came to office promising to put his “whole soul” into “bringing America together.” Instead, he called Trump supporters “garbage,” declared that Republicans in Congress supported “Jim Crow 2.0” and compared them to racists and traitors such as Bull Connor and Jefferson Davis. Vice President Kamala Harris said she agreed Trump is a fascist and warned that his election would threaten our very democracy.
When politicians engage in this kind of rhetoric, they are saying that the other side is not simply wrong but evil. And when you declare someone is evil, that provides a justification for violence.
Such rhetoric from Democrats long predates Trump. During the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton compared Republicans to Nazis, saying they wanted to “round [illegal immigrants] up” and put them in “boxcars.” Four years earlier, a super PAC supporting President Barack Obama ran ads showing Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan pushing an old lady in a wheelchair over the side of a cliff. In 2008, Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) compared GOP presidential nominee John McCain to segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace. In 2000, the NAACP spent millions on ugly ads accusing George W. Bush of moral equivalence with white supremacists who brutally lynched James Byrd in 1998.
Many on the left will respond: What about Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol chanting “hang Mike Pence”? Fair enough. The Capitol riot was a disgrace. But what happened that day notwithstanding, support for political violence on the right is in the single digits. On the left, it is substantial.
The only solution I can come up with is for Democratic leaders to stand up and address their own supporters, with a simple message. Violence against those with whom we disagree is not justified. We don’t do that.
