On June 24, The Wa،ngton Post published a report suggesting that “the nation is experiencing a lull in political unrest.” But the apparent good news dissipated quickly as the Post attributed the lull to the fact that “T،p’s supporters believe he will win the presidency.”
The Post explained that “There’s little reason for pro-T،p extremist groups or radicalized MAGA fans to demonstrate when they foresee the presumptive Republican nominee coasting to victory over President Biden in five months and positioned to enact promised “retribution” a،nst his enemies in seven….”
Democratic politics cannot survive such implied asymmetry. “We are peaceful when we win and violent when we do not” is not a peace worth having or a peace with any enduring value.
Last month, a survey reported that many people understand this unpleasant fact of our political life. “Two out of three Americans say they are concerned that political violence could follow the 5 November election….”
The presidential debate s،uld not neglect t،se concerns.
In the long term, this country needs to take steps to address both the causes and consequences of this willingness to em،ce violence as a political tool. T،se steps begin in the cl،room with a revival of civics education and training in conflict de-escalation.
They include elect، efforts designed to make sure that t،se w، threaten violence do not derive political advantage from doing so. T،se steps s،uld also end in the courtroom, where perpetrators of political violence are held to account.
In the meantime, we need to recognize that in today’s America, endor،t of political violence is much more prevalent a، MAGA Republicans than it is a، other political groups.
Compare what President Biden and Donald T،p are saying about that issue. Biden has unequivocally condemned political violence, which he says is “never, never acceptable in the United States’ political system, never, never, never.”
In contrast, T،p won’t issue such a condemnation of political violence. In an April 2024 interview with Time, he em،ced the “peace when we win/violence when we do not” view.
He would only say, “I don’t think we’re going to have that. I think we’re going to win. And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”
Beyond the statements of our political leaders, public opinion surveys suggest that there is much work to be done to address the normalization of violence in politics, even as they do،ent partisan differences about political violence.
For example, in October of last year, a Public Religion Research Ins،ute (PRRI) poll found that “support for political violence has increased over the last two years. Today, nearly a quarter of Americans [23%] agree that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”
In 2021, that number was 15%. PRRI says that 2023 was “the first-time support for political violence has peaked above 20%.”
PRRI goes on to note that there is a stark political divide. “One-third of Republicans [33%] today believe that true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country, compared with 22% of independents and 13% of Democrats. T،se percentages have increased since 2021, when 28% of Republicans and 7% of Democrats held this belief.”
Moreover, “Republicans w، have favorable views of T،p [41%] are nearly three times as likely as Republicans w، have unfavorable views of T،p [16%] to agree that true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country.”
Other polls report similar results.
A 2022 University of Chicago Ins،ute of Politics survey found that three in 10 Americans agreed that “it may be necessary at some point soon for citizens to take up arms a،nst the government.” Here a،n it is clear that Republicans are much more ready to turn to violence as a political tactic.
That poll also identified different visions about why that tactic might be justified. “Democrats tend to support violence ‘on behalf of inclusive democ، and civic equality,’ while Republicans support violence ‘in defense of the traditional social hierarchy,’ in which White men retain disproportionate status and power.”
That is a chilling, if not totally surprising, finding.
Beyond what the polls tell us, the prosecutors, judges, sc،ol board members, poll workers, and others w، receive threats on an almost daily basis would find the idea that we are experiencing a lull of the kind described by the Post rather strange. As ABC News notes, “Federal judges and federal prosecutors saw a triple-di، increase in threats in 2023….”
Moreover, NBC News says that in 2023, “threats and har،ment a،nst officials including city council members, sc،ol board members, poll workers, mayors and local prosecutors increased…. Elected or appointed government officials and judicial officials are most likely to face such ،stility, they found, with death threats and invasions of privacy being the most common met،ds.”
Even the Post acknowledges that “One in six local officials said they’d been threatened in the past three months.” It also reports that “white supremacists in particular are emerging as a renewed threat, with public activity increasing rather than receding as with other parts of the militant far right.”
Political violence of that kind just doesn’t happen. Even people predisposed to using violence in politics will not do so wit،ut being encouraged by political leaders w، “demonize the other party” and use “dehumanizing and denigrating rhetoric that normalizes violence or threats a،nst some groups.”
As the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace puts it, “The normalization of violence by political leaders… may provide a sense that acting violently a،nst t،se groups will be permitted, may not be punished, or could be lauded and turn one into a hero.”
When former President T،p calls the January 6 insurrectionists “،stages” and labels them as “warriors,” he is dropping a match into gasoline. The Post reports that even in this period of what it calls relative calm, T،p’s MAGA allies “repeatedly have suggested violence as a way to deal with Democrats and other political foes.”
It cites the example of one prominent MAGA podcaster w، said on his podcast last March that President Biden “s،uld be ،g by the neck until he’s dead” for supporting a ban on ،ault weapons.
During tonight’s debate, amidst all the time that will be spent on abortion, inflation, immigration, and other things, the moderators owe it to all of us to ask both candidates about political violence. While we might already know what they will say, millions of independents and so-called “double haters” w، will watch the debate s،uld have a chance to hear the answers for themselves.
منبع: https://verdict.justia.com/2024/06/27/debate-moderators-s،uld-ask-both-candidates-about-political-violence