Despite calls for many Democratic politicians and pundits to temper their inflammatory rhetoric, this week has proven a further escalation in this dangerous form of rage rhetoric. DNC Chair Ken Martin just told MSNBC’s “The Beat” that “we may be nearing” the moment when “elections don’t matter and then the resistance looks completely different.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on people to “forcefully rise up.” With political violence on the rise, these leaders are clearly fueling the mob in hopes that they and their party can ride the wave of rage back into power. History suggests that it is a foolish delusion. Today’s revolutionaries quickly become tomorrow’s reactionaries.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who pictures himself brandishing a baseball bat has previously called upon people to “fight in the streets.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom previously declared, “I’m going to punch these sons of bitches in the mouth.”
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger called upon her supporters to “Let your rage fuel you.” She then refused to withdraw her support for the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Jay Jones, who once expressed his desire to kill his political opponents and his children.
In his podcast with co-host Al Hunt, James Carville was again spewing unhinged hate. He returned to treating Trump and others as Nazis and their supporters as “collaborators.” I previously criticized Carville for that analogy. He later attacked me.
Doubling down, Carville declared
“You know what we do with collaborators? I think these corporations, my fantasy dream is that this nightmare ends in 2029 and I think we ought to have radical things. I think they all ought to have their heads shaven, they should be put in orange pajamas and they should be marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and the public should be invited to spit on them.”
To be sure that his menacing words were not lost, he then added “The universities, the corporations, the law firms, all of these collaborators should be shaved, pajamaed and spit on.”
There was no later push back by his co-host Hunt or anyone else associated with the podcast.
As one of those Carville has already attacked, I expect he has a haircut and public humiliation in mind for me and a significant number of others deemed insufficiently committed to the resistance.
Even with the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the attempts on Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, these politicians and pundits are still fueling the madness. Even with the sniper attack on ICE officers, they are still calling these law enforcement officers “Gestapo” and “Nazis.”
In my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I write about rage and the uncomfortable truth for many engaging in rage rhetoric:
“What few today want to admit is that they like it. They like the freedom that it affords, the ability to hate and harass without a sense of responsibility. It is evident all around us as people engage in language and conduct that they repudiate in others. We have become a nation of rage addicts, flailing against anyone or anything that stands in opposition to our own truths. Like all addictions, there is not only a dependency on rage but an intolerance for opposing views. … Indeed, to voice free speech principles in a time of rage is to invite the rage of the mob.”
The appearance of guillotines has become commonplace in left-wing protests. From protests against Trump to those against Israel, the symbol of the Terror is being rolled out as a warning to those with opposing views: “We got the guillotine, you better run.”
It is the ultimate expression of an age of rage. There is no question that it is protected speech. However, it is part of what I have called “rage rhetoric,” and it is meant to inflame others. It suggests that the only solution to these issues is what the French called “the razor of the Republic.”
In the French Revolution, the irony is that those who turned the guillotine into the symbol of revolution were themselves beheaded on the same platforms. Robespierre and others would ultimately be dispatched in the same atmosphere of rage and revelry.
As my new book discusses, most revolutions are driven by establishment figures who seek to capitalize on the wave of popular rage to gain power. We are seeing that today with many Democratic leaders using rage rhetoric to appeal to the far extremes of their political bases.
Some have. Protesters are burning cars, dealerships, and even lawyers and reporters on the left are throwing Molotov cocktails at police.
In the end, today’s pseudo-revolutionaries are likely to find themselves tomorrow’s reactionaries. Leading mobs is rarely a safe place to be as more radical elements take hold of a movement. The result is an inexorable pattern that runs throughout history as revolution devours its own.
Instead of dragging this out for an extended period of time, it’s probably time to just do something violent to a few Democrats and let them beg for peace.
Arresting Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and their co-conspirators sounds like a great start! Time to end their shitshow of tyrannical Communist crap and retake our nation FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE!
In Other News, “Politicians Craft Giant Wet Paper Bag to Prove How Tough They Really Are”
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Seeing the need to counter accusations of that their bark was worse than their bite, several members of Congress hired a grocery sack manufactuer to create a 10′ x 15′ x 30′ paper bag, hosed it down, then declared they were in fact tough enough to fight their way out of it.
However, upon walking inside and sealing the end, they discovered the moisture had also sealed the fibers, cutting off the inflow of oxygen. The pols then frantically tried to punch their way through the soaked bag but were unable to fight their way out as predicted by critics…the bag was simply too formidible an opponent. Soon they began to atack one another, demanding to have the last breath and the last word. Just before decending into unconsciousness, they refused to call for help on account it might be a police officer who might come to their rescue and, in their mind, would actually shoot them as all fascist police officers do.
Finally a teenage boy from Florida who happened to be in the area opened the bag and pulled out the politicans to safety. Rather than thank the boy, they instead launched into a tirade that Floridians deserve to be punched in the mouth for supporting Governor DeSantis. The boy then left these ingrates to their misery.
““Politicians Craft Giant Wet Paper Bag to Prove How Tough They Really Are””
The Arnold Stang test…
“The Arnold Stang test…”
For those who are too young, or have forgotten, Stang was a a short, scrawny, bespectacled comic with an annoying, nasal, Brooklyn accent whose schtick was making fun of his own shortcomings (sorry). He made a series of commercials for Chunky chocolate candy (a vaguely pyramidal hunk of milk chocolate and nuts sold singly in a silver foil wrapper) in the early 1960s, many of which were aired during afternoon childrens’ TV shows. One of those commercials had Stang climb into a huge (well, big enough to accommodate all 4’7″ of him at any rate) wet paper bag, then trying, and failing to punch his way out. Probably doesn’t seem to funny when reduced to words, but it was pretty amusing at the time, especially to an audience with a median age of about 8 years.
I think that these democrats dont understand that the are directing their constituents to continuously nudge the right wing bear. If the people on the left continue to nudge the bear in an exceedingly aggressive way eventually the bear is going to wake up. At this point in time the bear is in a holding posture letting the government take care of these issues. If and when the right wing bear decides to wake up the left is going to quickly regret waking up the bear. The bear represents all of the heavily armed well trained Patriot groups that exist in every state across this great nation. The III%,Oath Keeper’s and Proud Boys to name just a few. If these groups get involved and consolidate Antifa will quickly look like the petulant children they are. I hope this doesn’t happen but I also keep hoping that the democrat politicians would quit encouraging their people to keep nudging the bear. They are about to start a fight they can’t win.
Not only can the Democrats encouraged by their leaders not win the fight, they seem too ignorant to recognize that their “leaders” are too chicken to physically enter the fight themselves. Their “leaders” are playing them for the useful idiots that they are.
T-Rob, I hope, like you, it doesn’t reach live ammo status. Then again, seeing more of this https://www.facebook.com/arizonasfamily/videos/1099681000232233/ from The Bear won’t bother me in the slightest.
Police Officer: “Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly thou!”
” The bear represents all of the heavily armed well trained Patriot groups that exist in every state across this great nation. ”
It would be advisable for the left (and possibly a few on the right, as well) not to forget that there is a huge number of us who own firearms and support the Constitution, but who are more inclined to be loners than joiners, and who therefore do not belong to any organized militia or Patriot group. Should push come to shove in the manner that you suggest, however, I can guarantee you that we will also be heard from.
Never make the mistake of underestimating your opponent. Especially when they’re radical lunatics with nothing at all to lose. Do you notice when they arrest these people at riots around the country, they often live several states away? Why are they there, is someone paying them? How do these people support themselves without jobs? They aren’t just leftists, many of them are just a collection of fringe losers, anarchists, drug addicts, and radical trans people that don’t seem to fit in anywhere, one guy running for office in Maine is a socialist, one-time Nazi, that was a former Marine. It seems like the only thing they have in common is that they hate just about everything this country stands for.
“We got the guillotine, you better run.”
You claimed there is no question that this is protected speech, but I don’t think that is the case at all. If the person uttering it actually has a guillotine on hand, as you mentioned earlier, how is that not a “true threat”?
We are witnessing the made-up rage to fuel the crowds towards the Dem’s hopeful take back power movement. The Dems seem to want a civil war — and where will this take us? Chuck Schumer is near the ‘has been’ end of his career and instead of quelling fear, he is now inciting it.
What will win hearts and minds is making this country stronger through jobs, fair wages, sound policies, etc.
Let those of us who still honor the Constitution, keep calm and try to work within its bounds. First and foremost, we are Americans !
I think they are hoping for another Jan 6th that they can pin on the Right. The problem is that they don’t control the narrative like they did at that time. They don’t have a corrupt FBI or DOJ to help make that happen. They don’t control DC any longer. Maybe they think it they can provoke some kind of proud boys style violence they’ll reclaim the moral high ground. I don’t see it happening. Trump has done a terrific job of dismantling just about every leftist black hole out there.
Pick a side, Jonathan. Sitting on the fence may save you from the Right, but the Left will pluck you off that fence and throw you onto a tumbrel.
There should be a daily timer running to keep track of how many hours pass before GeorgeX appears to pronounce (as he does every day) that Professor Turley’s opinions are wrong, and that the professor is doing this deceptively (or as a result of poor reading comprehension skills) to throw red meat to Trump’s MAGA mob. In short: as always, Professor Turley is wrong.
After that introduction, GeorgeX will write (as though he was sent here on a mission from God) that the correct interpretation is that all that the professor criticized is the opposite: just good faith commentary and criticism of Trump’s totalitarian and tyrannical presidency.
If we do this for a few days we’ll have a median amount of time that passes before each daily GeorgeX appearance. With that known amount of time, we can then run a daily betting pool, somewhat like a numbers game run in Democrat inner city ghettos.
At least it is CRYSTAL CLEAR as to the significance of the 2A (with insurance).
We need some good “rise up” music! One of my favorites:
I wonder how many here are old enough to recognize this as a spoof of the show Hee Haw?
Some of us.
I remember the old joke about what a ship has in common with a penis. That was the punchline at the start.
Instead of “rage”, I see religious zeal. The leftists have lost their faith, but retained their religious fervor. They have transferred their fervor against Republicans as a hate target.
Government is their religion. They’re drunk on the power of it. They can’t wait to use it to crush their enemies. They can’t even stop taking about what they plan to do when they get back into power. These are the leaders of their party. Jeffries is already taking about retribution against Trump supporters, Carvel is already fantasizing about punishing Trump supporters, or “collaborators”, as he’s calling them. For a group that keeps calling everyone Nazis, they can’t seem to go a day without acting like….Nazis.
Dems calling for more rage, rather than ideas and communication.
So disgusting.
Elected officials should be working for the people with solutions.
Prof Turley, You are on the mark. Violence, if it comes, will be horrific. If you don’t mind, I’ll offer a passage attributed to the Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of “The Gulag Archipelago”:
“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left alone.
They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love.
They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know, that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over.
The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be.
Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror.
TRUE TERROR will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”
There may very soon come the day when good men are forced to do terrible things. I am one of those men. I am a God fearing peaceful man.
Seems to me, that ultimately, when the men who just want to be left alone finally are pushed to their limit, those who wouldn’t listen to them and kept it up will pay a very steep price. I fear that there will be many cases of lead poisoning. And it will be their own fault for not listening.
“Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. ”
I wasn’t familiar with that Solzhenitsyn quote, but I think it fits the current situation perfectly.
Why does the word insurrection keep popping into my mind?
Democrats are fighting a Civil War…their 2nd
That is obvious! They are Against America…and need to be Abolished. I do not say this lightly
The biggest question for someone smarter than me, when is this conduct a violation of the Sedition Statute and a violation of the Insurrection Act??????
re: “The biggest question for someone smarter than me”
It seems a) no one_has_ that answer – or is it b) no one wants to PRONOUNCE that answer … i.e. we know what the answer is.
I hope that some enterprising soul would organize an “orange pajama” parade. We need to have some fun with James Carville’s vile remarks.
Has Carville ever been right since 1992?
He’s right that the Democrats should remove the “transgender is for children, women’s sports are for women with penises!” planks from their platform.
True, but let’s not help the dems in this mess, they are oblivious to their own appearance, what with living in that bubble so long.
I liked him in Lord of the Rings, thought he was outstanding. Even did it without makeup!
Belief has been replaced by confirmation: King Biden decreed that his minions shred the First and Fourth Amendment protections of GOP senators and former AGs who he saw as dangerous political opponents.
He ordered Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco (former Obama DoJ team player with Jack Smith in the 2012 hit on Governor Bob McDonnell) to work with FBI Director Christopher Wray to violate not only their First and Fourth Amendment rights, but also their senatorial protections and immunities. All to both spy on what those he saw as dangerous political enemies were communicating about, but also in the hope that the illegal spying would find some sort of evidence of criminality to take those senators and former Attorney Generals out with.
Reminiscent of England’s old Courts Of Star Chamber at the time of the Revolutionary War, this police state fascism and attack on protected speech was quaintly named “Arctic Frost”.
I wonder if Professor Turley is busy at this very moment writing his next column, where he will comment on his fellow Democrats also making their living in politics, and the police state fascism they engaged in to shred their victims First and Fourth Amendment?
In other breaking news… water is still wet; nothing has changed since yesterday, last week, last month, last year, or in fact the last ten years.
Think of it as the Coles Notes for this blog entry covering Democrats’ perfidity.
I have it on fairly good authority the sun rose in the east this morning, too . . .
Democrats are so afraid of the far-left fringe that they had encouraged up until now that they are paralyzed.
They abandon their obligation to constituents, they abandon even a pretense of trying to govern.
No doubt some of them fear actual physical violence from the far left if they try to act rationally.
Most of them seem to fear a primary from a far-left challenger.
There is no more Democrat party, there is merely a herd of sheep terrorized by a fringe element into cowed silence.
That isn’t a far-left fringe bug of the DNC.
That’s a main feature of the new Soviet Democrat party and the Democrat Borg that they operate as – not a bug.
And calling the new power center of the DNC – AOC, Warren, Sanders, etc the “fringe” gives DNC apologists an excuse to claim “but it’s only a few of our party members”.
Democrats ARE FAR left wing
Their voters pretend they aren’t supporting open fascism, but THEY ARE!