Our Democracy Is Being Endangered By Political Violence (from Both Sides)

I did not like Charlie Kirk. He was a rabid right-winger who pushed an agenda (racist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic) that was dangerous to this country and many of its citizens. But his killing was WRONG! It was a heinous crime, and I hope his killer is found, tried, and given the harshest penalty possible.

The taking of a human life is always wrong (except in self defense or the defense of another). And political killings are especially wrong, because they put our democracy in danger. 

I'm sure many of those who commit political violence think they are accomplishing something. They aren't. In fact, it often pushes people to do the exact opposite of what they wanted. The killing of Kennedy in Dallas resulted in an overwhelming victory for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. And the attempted killing of Trump gave his campaign a boost that allowed him to eke out a victory in 2024.

Political violence is getting out of hand in this country. And it is resulting in violence against those on both the left and the right. And whether that violence is committed by a leftist or a right-winger it is always wrong.

The surge in political violence is caused in large part by an increase in political hate speech. Too many people think their political opponent is their enemy. They aren't. They are simply people who disagree with you politically. 

It is OK to disagree with others politically. That's the basis of democracy. And it's OK to fight hard for the success of your own views. But when you lose (and everyone eventually does in a democracy), you must accept it and prepare to fight again on another day.

But resorting to political violence of any kind must not happen. It is a crime, and it's anti-democratic.

We need to tone down the political hate speech. Democrats are not the enemy of Republicans and Republicans are not the enemy of Democrats - and politicians (and others) should avoid speech that demonizes those that disagree with them. In a strong democracy, people need to be able to disagree without hating.

We also need to do something about the proliferation of guns in this country. There are more guns that people in the United States - and it is far too easy for those who want to do violence to get any kind of gun they want.

We  may not be able to completely eliminate political killings (or mass shootings or murders in general), but respect for each other (even when we disagree) and some sane (and constitutional) gun laws can radically reduce them. We need to do both.

Most Think Political Debate Is More Toxic And Violent

The charts above are from the Pew Research Center.

 

New Poll Shows The Partisan Divide In The United States

 The charts above are from the Project Home Fire survey (by the University of Virginia Center for Politics) -- done between August 25th and September 11th of a nationwide sample of 2,008 registered voters, with a 2.2 point margin of error. The poll shows a very divided country, and has some rather frightening results.

NOTE - Click on an image to get a larger version to view.

88% Of Americans Are Concerned About Political Violence

These charts are from the Washington Post / ABC News Poll -- done between October 31st and November 2nd of a nationwide sample of 1,005 adults, with a 4 point margin of error. 

Public Sees Current Political Turmoil As A Danger To U.S.

 

The charts above reflect the results of the new Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between January 7th and 10th of a nationwide sample of 1,313 adults, with a 2.7 point margin of error.

It shows Americans currently have a pessimistic view of what's happening in the country. They support the January 6th Select Committee and its work. But they think our democracy is in danger of collapse, domestic political instability is a bigger danger than foreign enemies, and they expect those political divisions to get worse in their lifetime. It's no wonder that their faith in government is very low.

The chart below was also in the poll. Most Americans do not want Trump to run for president again in 2024.

Americans Believe This Is A Greatly Divided Country

There has been much talk recently about the U.S. being a divided country, and that seems to be what the American people think. According to the Gallup Poll, a record 77% of the public says this is a greatly divided country, while only 21% say Americans are united. And that division seems to be growing worse all the time.

I would have to agree with that -- and the sad part these days is that the two sides don't see each other as political opponents they can compromise with for the good of the country, but as enemies who have nothing good to offer the nation. While that is true to both sides somewhat, I believe it is especially true among right-wingers because of the vicious rhetoric their leaders have used for the past couple of decades.

This country is in serious trouble if this is not overcome. We must realize that we are all Americans, and will sink or swim together. The question though -- have we gone too far to change?

We Are Not Enemies - We Are All Americans

The photo at left (from NBC News) is of passengers on the train that crashed in Hoboken trying to move to safety. I was struck by a comment made by several of the crash survivors -- that they were surprised at strangers coming forward to help them after the crash.

I thought that was a rather sad comment, since it shows that they didn't think most people would jump to help in an emergency. I wonder if that's the view that most Americans have these days.

We get a lot of bad news from our media. Sometimes it seems like that's the only kind of news they report (both on the local and national level). Add to this the growing partisanship in our politics over the last few years, and one would be excused in thinking that Americans hate each other, and would not lift a finger to help someone else.

I don't think that's true. Most Americans are decent and law-abiding people -- and they are good people who would step forward to help others in any kind of tragedy. And they would do that regardless of the race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views of the victims. I really believe that.

There is nothing wrong with being passionate about our political views. In fact, I recommend it because that is the heart of a good democracy. But we must remember -- we are not enemies. We are all Americans, and we are in this together. It's not all or nothing when stating our opinions. We need to remember that we all want what's best for the country, and that reasoned compromise is not a bad thing. In fact, it's what has usually moved our country forward.

Let me also say -- If you are a Democrat or Republican (or Green or Libertarian) and you don't have some friends in those other parties, you are missing out on knowing some really good and nice people -- and you are part of the problem. We can fight for our views without dividing our country into groups that hate each other.

We are enriched by our diversity -- both in people and in political views. It's OK to disagree with someone else, but it is not OK to mistreat that other person because they disagree with us. You don't have to agree with someone to like and help them. That's just common decency.

U.S. Politics Has Become Ridiculously Partisan

The charts above are from the Pew Research Center. They are from a survey they did between March 2nd and 28th, and again between April 5th and May 2nd of a random national sample of 4,385 adults. The survey has a margin of error of 2.3 points.

The charts show the sad state our political scene is currently in. Americans used to disagree on politics without making it personal -- and that allowed compromise in solving problems. But the current political scene is extremely partisan -- with most convinced that the other party's members pose a danger to the country (and use negative words to describe them). And that is true of both parties.

We no longer believe that we are all in the same boat, and must work together to make sure that boat doesn't sink. Now we seem to be convinced that the other party is trying to sink that boat.

Komen Still Hurting From Their Foray Into Right-Wing Politics

As you probably know by now, the Susan G. Komen Foundation recently exposed their right-wing political beliefs by announcing they would no longer provide funds to Planned Parenthood for their breast exam and mammogram program (a program that helped thousands of women who could not afford an alternative). That move resulted in a firestorm of protest directed against them.

They eventually apologized, and said they would consider giving grants to Planned Parenthood in the future -- although they made no promise to do so. I think they thought that would make everything OK. But personally, I no longer trust the Komen Foundation now that I know the nasty political leanings of the founder and the board of directors. And it looks like I'm not the only one who no longer trusts them.

The Komen Foundation has scheduled its Run For The Cure race in Fort Worth for April 14th. At this point last year, the early registration total for the race stood at 4,178 and eventually around 14,000 participated in the race. But this year the early registrations have been far less, only 2,125 have signed up so far. Race organizers say they're not sure the lag in registration is because of the Planned Parenthood debacle, and hope the registrations will pick up after summer vacation.

I think they are engaging in some wishful thinking. There are a whole lot of people who are still angry about the Komen Foundation entering right-wing political waters. Komen broke their trust, and trust is not something that can be cured in a short period of time with a half-hearted apology.

If I were in the Komen Foundation, I would be very worried. Texas is an ultra-conservative state, and if Komen support is down by 50% here you can imagine how badly they have been hurt in other areas.

Bus Driver In Amarillo Refuses To Transport OWS protesters

I have always thought the purpose of a bus was to transport passengers -- as long as they didn't cause trouble or pose a danger to other passengers. But an Amarillo bus driver named Donald Ainsworth seems to think he can make up his own rules for passengers -- and his rule is that he won't allow anyone who disagrees with him politically to ride on the Greyhound bus he drives.

There were 13 Occupy Wall Street protesters coming from San Diego (California) to participate in the upcoming "Occupy Congress" demonstrations. They had no problems with the bus company or any of its drivers -- until they reached Amarillo on Saturday. Driver Ainsworth became upset when he learned the 13 riders were OWS protesters. He yelled at them and told them they weren't wanted, and when they got on the bus, he refused to drive the bus.

The protesters and other passengers were locked on the bus for an hour while the driver ranted and tried to decide what he would do. He finally called the Amarillo police to the bus station. After a discussion with police, in which they tried to talk him into just driving the bus, the police finally removed the 13 San Diego OWS passengers -- and Ainsworth drove the bus away leaving them stranded in Amarillo (even though they had tickets and were causing no trouble).

After being forced to stay overnight in the bus station, the 13 were finally able to board a bus on Sunday and continue their journey to Washington, D.C. This should never have happened. As an Amarillo resident, I am shocked at the way these visitors were treated in our city. Ainsworth has the right to any political beliefs he wants to have, but he does not have the right to force his beliefs on others or demand they have a certain political philosophy before they can ride on the bus.

To my knowledge the bus company has not made any public statements regarding the driver's conduct. Personally, I believe he should be fired. He has shamed himself, this city, and the company he works for.

"The Gipper" Wouldn't Approve

Steve Lopez had an excellent column in the Los Angeles Times yesterday, where he discusses a visit he had with Stuart Spencer. Spencer ran four successful campaigns for Ronald Reagan -- two for governor and two for president. Suffice it to say that he was close to President (and Governor) Reagan.

Spencer doesn't like the devisive media and rabid partisan politics of today, and he believes Ronald Reagan wouldn't have liked it either. He reminds us that Reagan didn't consider his political opponents to be enemies. He says when Reagan was governor "you could fight all day and then go have a cocktail with the other side at night."

Reagan continued that in the White House, inviting Democrat Tip O'Neill to the White House on Thursday nights for "hours of story-telling and problem-solving." Reagan also built both a political and social relationship with Ted Kennedy, and worked closely with him "on budget matters and international disarmament."

Spencer also doesn't like the devisive media pundits who talk about Reagan as though he was a saint, but treat political opponents as though they were enemies of their own country. Spencer says he doesn't watch Glen Beck, or anyone else on Fox News (or MSNBC) because they have an agenda. He said he "doesn't see why those interested in educating themselves on matters of national importance would turn to either for reliable information."

Spencer said it also annoys him that Fox News won't admit that Sarah Palin was a preposterous choice for the vice-presidential candidacy. Spencer says, "She just wasn't qualified."

And what does he think of Rush Limbaugh's radio program? He doesn't listen to it. When he was asked why he doesn't listen to Limbaugh, Spencer replied "Because he's an asshole." I certainly can't argue with that sort of incisive insight.

Spencer says the only papers he regularly reads are the Desert Sun and the Los Angeles Times, and when he wants solid and impartial TV reporting, he watches Jim Lehrer on PBS.

I doubt that Spencer and I would agree on much politically, but I can't find fault with his views on the devisive agenda-driven media of today. It's really nice to finally see a Republican showing some common sense.