I believe very strongly that listening to Republicans and Conservatives when they give advice to Democrats and Liberals. It’s never well intentioned. It’s never meant to be helpful. It’s always a manipulation. You’d be further ahead to believe Democrats and Liberals should do the opposite of what Conservatives advise.
On the other hand, it should be the mission of Democrats and Liberals to make Conservatives pay for their mistakes. Napoleon said “never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point out the mistakes of political opponents. Politics isn’t really war by other means, and it’s important to point out negatives to the people Liberals want to influence.
Both those things are coming together with the shooting (near shooting?) of Trump. Democrats have done the responsible thing by taking a brief pause in the campaign and calling for calm, responsible behavior. Conservatives, for their part, have ratcheted up the violent imagery even more while insisting Democrats roll over and take it without pushback.
Now it’s time to get back on the fast horse and ride. Point out there is no symmetry in this war of words. One side is responsible, the other is terrifying.
(Ken) Dilanian continued, "And Trump campaign surrogate Nick Adams posted, on social media, quote, 'Joe Biden's rhetoric is directly responsible. There can be no discussion. This is a fact.'"
The reporter noted that although Democrats have "called Donald Trump an authoritarian and a threat to democracy," they "have never hinted that violence was an appropriate response to that."
Dilanian explained, "After this shooting, Democrats, including President Biden, have condemned it in the strongest possible terms, and they've called this political violence a threat to democracy…. And experts are worried that this kind of rhetoric increases the risk of more violence."
The MSNBC reporter warned that according to national security experts, "extremists" are "seizing on this incident.
"Telegram channels for branches of the Proud Boys militia group have been calling for civil war and violence," Dilanian told Snow. "According to Advance Democracy — that's an NGO that tracks this stuff — a user on one forum wrote that the Democratic National Committee, RINOs, and the feds, quote, 'should all be hung in the streets of D.C.' And users on a pro-Trump platform, Patriots.Win, are calling for violence and civil war. One user wrote, 'War now. They don't want to live and let live.' Some really dangerous rhetoric coursing around out there, Kate."