Violence

From Teresa Hanafin, Staff Writer for the Boston Globe:

Trump's Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was corrupt and that Democrats will try to steal future elections led directly to the brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi -- and by extension, on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- at their San Francisco home overnight.

It was a MAGA assassination attempt on the highest ranking Democrat in Congress and the woman who is second in line to the presidency. It actually was the second attempt: Remember the Trump guys on the hunt for Pelosi during the Capitol riot, chanting her name and breaking into her office, looking for her?

Trump is responsible for the attack at the Pelosi home, just as he was responsible for the attack on the Capitol Jan. 6, the attacks on election workers, the attacks on anybody who disagrees with or criticizes him.

All of the anger, hate, mayhem, and violence we're seeing in the country today is derived from Trump's Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen from him. That there was a massive conspiracy, encompassing many states, dozens of Electoral College electors, thousands of local, state, and federal government officials, to deny him a second term. It derived from his hateful anti-immigration stance, his "othering" of anyone who is not a white Christian.

Also responsible? The dozens of congressional Republicans, GOP governors, and other Republican elected officials who are too afraid to stand up to Trump's lies and who failed to say a single word of support for the Pelosis or denounce the attack, because it might undermine their fake rigged election claims.

Former VP Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and a few others issued strong condemnations. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not at first; his office released a statement that he had privately "reached out" to Nancy Pelosi. God forbid that he say anything publicly that could enrage Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert. He knows they have guns.

But pay attention to what those Republicans who did speak out said: They condemned the violence. Big deal. It's easy to condemn violence. What's not easy is to name and condemn the root cause.

It's the same pattern that occurs after mass slaughter: Decry the violence, but say nothing about guns.

Ditto here. Decry the violence against Paul Pelosi, but say nothing about the root cause.

If Republican leaders had any guts, here's what they would say:

"The election was not stolen. Donald Trump is lying. There was no voter fraud, there were no dead people voting, there were no people voting dozens of times, there were no Trump votes magically switched to Biden votes by voting machines controlled by Venezuela, there were no fake Biden ballots delivered to polling places in the dead of night, there were no election workers who pulled suitcases of fake Biden ballots out from under tables.

"None of that is true, and we have to stop peddling these lies just so that we can get the votes of conspiracy-minded people and stay in power.

"The efforts by Republicans in many, many states to stop Democrats from voting and disenfranchise voters of color is disgusting and must stop.

"The insurrection at the Capitol was treason against our country. Donald Trump was wrong to incite it in the days and weeks leading up to that day, and as president, he violated his oath of office by not immediately doing everything in his power to stop it and to condemn it.

"This country is divided and violent, with Americans turning against Americans and being willing to kill each other in the name of political ideology. Democrats are not our enemy. We may disagree on policy, sometimes vociferously, but we are not enemies.

"All of this is undermining democracy. We are heading down the path of autocracy, led by a dangerous narcissist named Donald Trump.

"We condemn his words and his actions, and vow to return the Republican Party to its conservative ideals and democratic norms."

As for the attack on Paul Pelosi, the assailant was a fervid, frothing-at-the-mouth MAGA adherent, a believer in every wacky conspiracy that conservatives are peddling these days. He has posted transphobic images as well as this: "Global Elites Plan To Take Control Of YOUR Money! (Revealed)"

I'm very interested in how Paul Pelosi was able to somehow let the 911 operator know that he was in danger without tipping off or further enraging the intruder.

If Nancy Pelosi had been at home, her Capitol Police security detail probably could have stopped the guy before he even got inside. Maybe her husband, a multimillionaire who runs a real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm, should get some private security.

This is on Trump. It's all on Trump. More Republicans in positions of power should have the courage to say so.