WHERE DO WE DRAW LINES ON CRITICIZING AND/OR CONFRONTING POLITICAL LEADERS?
“Are there appropriate times and places to confront public officials? What about when they’re ‘off the clock,’ so to speak?”
Someone broke into Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s home last night. The intruder beat 82-year-old Pelosi’s husband with a hammer and wounded him critically. Reportedly, the intruder screamed “Where’s Nancy?” which shifts the suspected motive from a petty household burglary to a targeted attack that was clearly premeditated and ideological. Later this was confirmed. The attacker was/is a violent election-denying, COVID-conspiracy-spewing, radical Right-wing extremist.
A few months ago, Supreme Court Justice Brent Kavanaugh faced a similar threat. Although no one was hurt in that attack, the intruder who targeted Kavanaugh’s suburban Maryland home intended to harm/kill the justice.
I’d like to believe there’s universal condemnation for these violent acts. Sadly, there isn’t. In fact, the ranks of ideological extremism are growing. Social media and its many extremist echo chambers bear some responsibility for the increase in acts of violence.
I’m also convinced these types of acts will continue. The toothpaste has already left the tube. Such acts could even multiply. We are entering very dangerous times, even more so if you’re a public figure.
I wish civility was omnipresent. That doesn’t diminish my convictions, nor subdue my passion. I’m still convinced many Trump-supporters are horrible people. But I have no desire to attack them or harm them in any way. What would physical (or even verbal) confrontation possibly accomplish?
When I lived and worked in Washington, and was employed in the U.S. Senate for a year, civility was the golden rule. Everyone was polite, especially in public. Elected officials, their staffs, even citizen-visitors all got along. The idea that any elected or appointed official would be rudely confronted and threatened was unthinkable. Political adversaries dined together, drank together, socialized together, and certainly worked together. Those days are over given hyper-partisanship.
Now, political figures can’t even go into restaurants or attend sporting events without being verbally harassed. A few nights ago, Sen. Ted Cruz was verbally assaulted at the Houston-New York ALCS game. Baseball fans screamed obscenities at Cruz as he left the stadium (much of this was caught on video and later circulated). We may gain some primitive satisfaction at seeing someone as loathsome as Cruz squirming uncomfortably in public, but a non-political recreational event is not the proper time or place to display political grievances. Many elected officials have faced open hostility in restaurants, even in Washington, which is a culture with institutionalized traditions that should know better. A few years ago, a campaign bus was nearly run off the road by a crazed mob of Trump supporters in Texas, endangering the lives of dozens of people (no one was ever charged). Then, we must remember Rep. Steve Scalise and Rep. Gabby Giffords who were both shot by extremists in separate incidents.
These are just the highest-profile cases. The problem is actually far worse than this if we include local politics. The public threats to lesser-known elected officials — even city council and school board members — who have been threatened with bodily harm number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
This latest act of extremism got me thinking and asking questions. Are there appropriate times and places to confront public officials? What about when they’re “off the clock,” so to speak? What about when they’re out in public with their families? Does any public figure deserve verbal abuse? (Note: I assume most of us agree physical violence is never acceptable) Next question: What would you do if you were dining out and Donald Trump sat down at the next table? What about Louis Farrakhan? What about David Duke? Even if you remained civil during such an encounter, how would you feel if someone else burst into the space and began making a scene? Your answer should be consistent here. It’s a generic question.
My viewpoint is that no public figure should ever be physically assaulted. No public figure should ever be verbally assaulted, unless they’re openly in the act of some form of political advocacy (such as at a campaign event). When a public figure is “on the clock,” they are fair game, I believe. But even then, there must be some limitations out of safety.