Someone should tell JD Vance that people are already getting hurt

By James J. Devine

JD Vance blamed other people for the kind of rhetoric that inspired the assassination attempts against disgraced former President Donald Trump but seven years ago, I explained that the puritanical religious zealots, embittered racists, and greedy corporate oligarchs who comprise the GOP have brought this on themselves.

After one frustrated and probably deranged Bernie Sanders supporter followed the advice of such patriotic conservatives as Senator Rand Paul, by using a firearm to combat dictatorial tyranny, I went on Fox News in June 2017 to tell Tucker Carlson that the incident was a predictable result of unchecked right-wing rhetoric.

Nobody listened. Today, I am more confident that those most responsible for inflammatory words are going to be most aggrieved by the consequences of their utterances.

America faces a stark choice: return to the days when elections reflected the will of the people, continue with the current system where wealth and campaign spending determine outcomes, or risk sliding into the violent transfer of power, a practice as ancient as humanity itself.

Trump promised a bloodbath in this country if he loses his presidential election for the second time (third time if you go by the popular vote). His caustic language and utter disdain for other people have attracted support from right-wing extremists like those who display Confederate and Nazi flags.

“I’m not going to say that conservatives always get things exactly right. But you know, the big difference between conservatives and liberals is that we have — no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months,” said Vance at the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition dinner, a gathering of white nationalists in Atlanta.

The Republican vice presidential candidate overlooked the fact that conservatives have been destroying their country since they were telling Americans that “Nixon’s the one.”

The object of the GOP economic scheme is to enslave working people and allow the idol rich to keep the wealth that their money draws to them like a sponge sucks up water.

The economic consequences of the Reagan Revolution include a $36 trillion national debt, massive inequality, and catastrophic harm to what we once called the American Dream.

When President Lyndon Johnson enacted civil rights legislation in the wake of JFK’s assassination, he predicted that Democrats would lose the South for a generation. The marriage of Southern racists and greedy oligarchs put money together with muscle and gave Fascist tyranny a chance to succeed in the United States.

During the Gilded Age, these two factions were on opposing sides politically. The Progressive Era diminished their evil impact on policy.

President Franklin Roosevelt was reluctant to take on racists when he needed to unite the country for a rescue from the Great Depression and the fight against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The New Deal coalition eventually found the soul of America under Kennedy and Johnson but we lost it in Vietnam.

Then there was Nixon, the Powell Memo, and the Reagan Revolution.

For forty-four years, the American Taliban has had financial support, or the robber barons have had an army of fools, that enabled them to undermine the fulfillment of the American Dream, rotting away the broad middle class in pursuit of family values and polluting politics with dirty money.

A couple of deranged gunmen had Trump in their sites, and one fired off a few rounds, but both of Trump’s unsuccessful assassins were either his former supporters or part of the audience from which many of his cult followers emanate.

The fact is, we do with ballots in this country what they do with bullets elsewhere but it is not uncommon in politics that candidates use the language of war. They wage ‘campaigns’ and ‘battle’ on the issues, and ‘attack’ one another’s policy.

I asked Tucker Carlson, “What was the body count when you were on Crossfire?” but he shrugged off my point about sticks and stones.

“Republicans in this country have failed to distinguish the differences between politics and war, and a lot of Democrats have failed to see the similarities. So, you guys either have to tone down the rhetoric or we have to step up,” I told him.

I was making the point that after year after year of hearing this kind of violent rhetoric from the right, the left had every reason to stand up to those bullies.

When a guy tried to assassinate Republican members of Congress, that was an excellent time to draw attention to the fact that we can have civil discourse or not, but we cannot operate with one side breaking rules of common courtesy while the other stays quiet.

I was also saying that rather than continue with a system that rewards the highest bidders or descend into violent power struggles, as humans did long before democracy existed, America should restore fair elections where every vote counts.

I would like to point out that ever since, I have not been invited to speak on national TV or been interviewed about my positions on fixing Social Security, outlawing bribery, reversing Reaganomics, or countless other policy issues. We should have a forum for people who do not set their hair on fire.

Sports articles are often laced with the same kind of harsh words because that is how we describe competition, but there is something different going on lately.

Inflammatory rhetoric gets noticed and common sense is ignored. Lies get circulated while simple truth does not. We have turned the news into a form of entertainment, trading Walter Cronkite for a bunch of wayward cranks who generate viewers susceptible to pharmaceutical advertising.

The usurpation of America’s news media by corporate profit-seeking stems from the increasing dominance of large conglomerates that prioritize financial gain over journalistic integrity. The media landscape driven more by commercial interests than by the need to inform citizens, is leaving the public vulnerable to biased, shallow coverage that undermines democracy and accountability.

“If a nation expects to be ignorant & free,” said Thomas Jefferson, “it expects what never was & never will be.” Fact-free politics is ideal for the financial fiefdom that has afflicted the 99 percent for more than four decades but this has devolved into a powder keg ripe for violence, in which civil means of change are significantly less effective.

Vance can’t see it for what it really is only because his head is way up inside his ass.

“I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric, and needs to cut this crap out,” according to Vance, but it was his audience that came up with “liberal hunting permit” bumper stickers, whose passion for killing people who look different met ambivalence among smart consumers, or used Hitler’s term “vermin” to describe my brothers and sisters.

Freedom is not giving someone license to poison our environment or the ability to vilify, persecute, and discriminate against people who are different from the majority. These basic objectives of today’s GOP are acts of violence against innocent people.

While Vance and other conservative con artists may attempt to deflect blame for the rising tide of violence and extremism onto their political opponents, it is crucial to recognize the role of inflammatory rhetoric in exacerbating these issues.

Senator Rand Paul shared a post on social media that said the reason we have a Second Amendment is not so people can hunt deer, it’s so that they could shoot at a tyrannical government. I think when a majority of the Supreme Court is appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, and they start taking bribes and rolling back fundamental rights, Americans have a tyrannical government at which to shoot.

The dangerous language and actions from some on the right, particularly Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and his overt encouragement of violence, cannot be overlooked.

This environment of hostility has led to real-world consequences, including assassination attempts and increased polarization, but the proliferation of guns, like abusive behavior and dehumanizing words, are generally not the fault of liberals.

Americans must confront the fact that incendiary language and extreme political rhetoric have tangible effects on society but instead of suggesting that someone should try to kill Kamala Harris, Vance should advocate a return to open and honest debate more like the civil discourse that once was common in American politics.

After the shooting at the Republican practice for the congressional softball game, I tweeted this: “We’re in a war with selfish, foolish, and narcissistic rich people. Why is it a shock when things turn violent? #huntRepublicancongressman.”

After an outcry of anguish and fear, I did not back down but followed up by posting: “I’m sorry if my #huntRepublicancongressman hashtag hurt the feelings of any GOP snowflakes, but you have not engaged in civil discourse.”

To mitigate these risks, it is essential for all of us to be mindful of the impact our words can have. Constructive dialogue, respectful debate, and a commitment to reducing divisive rhetoric are vital steps toward fostering a healthier democratic process and protecting the safety of all citizens.

After surviving an assassination attempt in July, Trump initially expressed a desire to unite the country but by the second one, he quickly reverted to blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for inciting violence against him, a lie almost as big as his false claim that immigrants “are eating the dogs” in Ohio.

There is a very simple choice here, which is one about whether America will go back to having elections like we used to; keep having something more like auctions, as we reward those candidates who spend the most money; or transfer power by violent means as humanity did for generations going back to a time before recorded history.

Nobody knows what is going to happen if things boil down to the bloodbath promised by Trump but it is unlikely that it would go well for the vast majority of people. Americans are not powerless in this, and we should not feel like helpless victims.

Americans must partake in political dialogues with both intellect and emotion. Conversations conducted with empathy instead of hostility and antagonism can bridge apparent divides. By acknowledging the truths of our history and engaging sincerely, they can utilize these qualities to genuinely foster meaningful political change.

If you want to save the world from the chaos that our behavior is inviting, then it is your responsibility as a citizen to get off the sidelines and do something about it.