Democratic leaders continued to ramp up their “rage rhetoric” following the inauguration. We have already seen violent protests and planned assassinations directed against Trump Administration figures. Despite the growing tensions, Democrats are ratcheting up claims of a “coup” and calling for Democrats to “fight in the streets.” After failing to win the election with claims that Democracy would die if Trump is elected, Democrats are doubling down on rage politics to try to win over the public. The difference is that they are now focusing on Elon Musk rather than Donald Trump.
Many of those fueling the anger are familiar names. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D, Mass.) declared “Elon Musk is seizing the power that belongs to the American people.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D, Md.) claimed on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” that Musk and Trump were conducting a “rapidly expanding and accelerating coup.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) appeared to be working off the same talking point and declared that a “coup” was being carried out.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) warned that Musk was “taking away everything we have.”
Despite voting to impeach Trump for calling for his supporters to “fight” against his opponents (while adding to do so “peacefully”), many used the same rhetoric to spur the left to action.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Cal.) said “We are here to fight back.” Sen. Cory Booker (D., NJ) called on citizens to “fight” and declared “We will rise up.”
Not to be outdone in the rage fest, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., TX) yelled, “We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it.”
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D., N.J.) added: “God d—it shut down the Senate!…WE ARE AT WAR!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for Democrats to fight “in the streets.”
In my recent book, I discuss the role of rage rhetoric in our politics extending back to the very beginning of the Republic:
“Just as a desire for free expression is quintessentially human, so is rage. As shown throughout our history, rage is addictive. It bestows a certain license to shed the confining expectations of reason and civility. … At times, our politics seem like a collective primal scream session where only the loudest prevail. Yet, for some, the license to rage goes beyond the amplification of their own views and becomes a demand for the silencing of others.”
Worse yet, it can inspire unhinged citizens who actually believe that this is a war against a coup. That relieves some of any qualms about taking violent action. It is the type of rhetoric that can prompt anti-Republican Nicholas John Roske to try to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh or Sanders supporter James T. Hodgkinson to try to massacre Republican members playing softball.
I still oppose those calling for investigations into such rage rhetoric despite my strong disagreement with these figures. The solution to bad speech is still better speech. The hypocrisy of these leaders is hardly surprising in an age of rage. However, “the rage is not what defines us. It is free speech that defines us.”
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Relevant —- The Death of Outrage by Bill Bennet.
The D brander cult is at war with America. They organized this flood of illegal aliens , the chaos it created and all the behind the scenes fraud with our taxpayer money. USAID was so thoroughly corrupted and billions of $$$ were being squandered by the apparatchik cogs shrouded in their bureaucratic fog. The D brand cult sees that their illicit money laundering agencies are being audited and this daylight scares these political vampires. Their empire of lies built on money laundering and influence peddling is all crashing down ….faster then they can spin yarns to save their cash cows of corrupt old. It’s glorious to finally have a president willing to audit all these tentacles of the corrupted fed fudd. Look at Samantha Powers , head of USAID. She started at that “job” 3 years ago with a declared personal wealth of approx $2 million. In 3 years she is now worth over $30 million. Find me a politician getting rich , and I”ll show you a crook is what Eisenhower said. And its as true an axiom as ever.
# Dems better calm down. The equipment in the tower in the DC crash. Chopper crew had night goggles like looking through a tube? What went right in this? 35 trillion in debt and old tower equip in DC? Cancel all night flights, and look around before take off hoping the wheels don’t fall off.
Money exported all over the world while Americans are homeless and hungry?
Speechless
“Traveler wrote: “Trump should confer with Colonel Douglas McGregor and get him in his cabinet. He’s been spot on with Ukraine and the ME, a very wise man.”
I couldn’t find the comment on the blog so that I will answer it here. What does MacGregor suggest? Not much of anything. He has no solution when the history is repeated to him. He knows Israel permitted Gaza autonomy since 2005, which led to war and Hamas violence against innocents for two decades. I am sure he read the Hamas Charter and recognizes Hamas’s goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jews.
Indirectly, he suggests that two foxes and a chicken decide the outcome, where Israel is the chicken. Macgregor acknowledges the history of Gazan violence, but cowardly refuses to draw any firm conclusions about what should be done next. This lack of resolution effectively places Israel in a situation where it must negotiate with an entity that has repeatedly demonstrated hostility. If security and survival are the stakes, then pretending that appeasement or neutrality is an option is naive and dangerous.