In a thought-provoking opinion piece for RedState, Ward Clark reflects on the chilling events of July 13, 2024, a day that will be etched in the memories of many as a pivotal moment in American political history.
On that day, a would-be assassin narrowly missed taking the life of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, instead wounding two individuals and tragically killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, who heroically shielded his family. Clark recounts how, during a Saturday lunch, a fellow diner remarked, "Well, Trump just won the election," capturing the gravity of the situation.
Clark delves into the unsettling trend of what he terms an "assassination culture" taking root on the political left. Citing a brief from the Rutgers Social Perception Lab-Network Contagion Research Institute, he highlights that 55.2% of left-leaning Americans believe that murdering Trump would be at least somewhat justified, a sentiment shared by 38.5% of the general population. This alarming statistic is not limited to Trump; nearly half of those surveyed, 48.6%, also consider the murder of Elon Musk justifiable.
The opinion piece further explores the troubling support for Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, and the subsequent naming of a health care ballot initiative in California after Mangione. According to the report's authors, "support for political violence including property destruction and assassination is not expressed in isolation, but as part of a tightly interconnected belief system."
Clark references an editorial from Issues & Insights, which discusses the dehumanization of political figures as a tacit approval for violence. The editorial board warns of the dangerous path this trend could lead to, noting the historical context of presidential assassination attempts, including the near-fatal shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981.
In a striking observation, Clark points out that in 2024, as Trump secured the GOP nomination, nine House Democrats introduced a resolution to strip him of Secret Service protection, a move he argues would make it easier to carry out assassination attempts. He questions the rationale behind such actions, suggesting they serve no purpose other than to facilitate violence against a President.
Clark concludes with a stark warning about the potential consequences of normalizing political violence, emphasizing that "murder is not a legitimate political tactic." He cautions that if the left continues down this dark path, it may lead to dire outcomes, reminding them that "your side isn't the side with all the guns."
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