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Where are the leaders in the Democratic Party and the media industry who are willing to use their First Amendment rights to confront specifically the problem of leftist violence and the poisonous lies that encourage it and excuse it? If the adults in these institutions have been cowed into silence by the woke mob, then it’s up to Democratic voters and consumers to save their party and their press by organizing protests and boycotts. Much has been said about the increasingly rare phenomenon of moderate Democrats in public debate (though polls suggest there are still plenty of them among the electorate). But as much as moderation, what the Democratic Party and the
partisan press need is heavy doses of tolerance and honesty. One could argue that the anti-Trump manifesto from Saturday’s alleged shooter reads like the ravings of a madman—or the talking points of much of the Democratic caucus and the partisan pundit class. These include falsely accusing Mr. Trump of terrible crimes including treason. How many in politics and the press have apologized for their roles in promoting Russia collusion falsehoods? Despite a horrifying pattern of violence among so-called progressives, the reaction of too much of the establishment left to yet another such horror is to blame gun rights or security protocols or to obscure the motivation of the alleged shooter. Even after the news of the anti-Trump rant written by alleged shooter Cole Allen, former President Barack Obama claimed on X on Sunday that “we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner.” Then there is the “Republicans pounce” angle, at Politico for example, by which journalists move on quickly from the shooting itself to frame the story as one of alleged GOP partisan exploitation of the event. But Democrats should be the ones pouncing, and seeking to drive out of their movement anyone who thinks shooting is an acceptable form of political activity. Violence from any quarter should be rejected entirely. It takes a willful effort to ignore that for years there has been a particular problem on the political left. Long before conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed by an alleged assassin with ideological motivations, Kirk’s visits to college campuses were routinely met with violent reactions
of varying degrees.
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